


Learning to Fly

by ImpulsiveWeaver



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-03-06 03:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 50,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpulsiveWeaver/pseuds/ImpulsiveWeaver
Summary: Cardin chooses to remain in Vale after the Fall of Beacon. His reasons may be misguided, but maybe it was the best choice he could have made...(RWBY Post Season 3). Rated T for some language.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello again! It's time for another story/story-fragment thingy. I love RWBY, and I couldn't resist writing a little something about a character that I didn't think much of in the beginning of the series. But over time, this one began to grow on me a bit. After a while, I wondered why I hadn't written anything, so I did! Friendly reminder again that I truly do not own any of this. OH, and also be sure to leave a review so I can continue to improve my writing. With that aside, let's begin!

_Everything was on fire. Houses, carts, street poles, and even the street itself seemed to be caught in the blaze. The village would be all but ash soon, and Grimm would come shortly after. Even the remnants of misery and pain seemed to beckon them. One house wasn't burning yet, but it was only a matter of time before it to was engulfed._

_Arguing voices came from inside the house. The voices were hasty and sharp._

_"He's only a kid, Bruce!"_

_"So were the rest of them once!"_

_"You can't be serious! He doesn't deserve that!"_

_The child sat huddled in the corner. Tears streamed down its face as it tried to hide from the two arguing Faunus in the center of the room. The child could not have been older than five years old, its bright orange hair was almost complemented by the orange haze that glowed from outside. The child was crying for its mother, but so far no one had come._

_"If we leave him here, he will grow and become a monster just like the rest of humanity! You know that better than anyone, Gretta!"_

_The one named Gretta shook her head. Her tail swished nervously. She knew how much Bruce resented the humans. She did too, to an extent, but this was too far._

_"We don't have time for this. They others have already left. The humans from nearby villages will be coming soon, and if they find us…"_

_"Let them find us!" Bruce growled angrily. "I'm tired of running, pretending like I don't matter!"_

_Gretta stepped back in fear. She had never seen Bruce like this before. His claws were out, and his fangs were bared in a menacing manner that Gretta had never seen before. Both his claws and jaws were stained in blood, as were hers. And Gretta was fairly certain that her and Bruce were the reasons why the child's parents weren't coming. The child didn't have parents anymore._

_"Bruce…" she was interrupted by the drone of approaching hovercraft. Hovercraft meant people from the city, and people from the city meant guns. She instantly reacted._

_"We have to go!" she yelled grabbing Bruce by the arm and hauling him towards the door._

_"I'm not going anywhere!" Bruce yelled in reply, yanking his arm away. "I'm not done here!"_

_"Please! Just forget about it! We have to go!" Gretta pleaded._

_Bruce looked from the child back to her, then back at the child again. The child turned to look back at him, fear ever present in its eyes. Finally, Bruce relented._

_"Fine!" he roared. "Let's go!"_

_The child watched with wide eyes as the two of them disappeared through the doorway. He was all alone now. He was so scared. His parents were gone, he hadn't seen them since the attack began. He cried out, but no one seemed to answer. He tried again, and this time he heard footsteps approach the house. A silhouette appeared in the doorway, a flashlight scanning the room from the shadow's hand. The child heard a voice yelling. Then everything went dark._

…

Cardin gasped and bolted upright in his bed. His breathing was heavy, and his bare chest heaved with every heavy breath he took. He looked around wildly for a few moments before realizing where he was. His memory came back to him as well. He was in a group home. A hastily thrown-together housing development used for refugees and those that had been displaced due to the attack on Beacon. The attack. Right. Cardin sat for a moment and remembered again all that had happened that night. He and his teammates had been in the stadium when the nevermore broke through, but they had been lucky, and had been the first ones to make it out of the coliseum. Cardin had already been having a bad day. And the first thing he did was get to his weapon. He knew that the White Fang was behind this, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to get some payback.

He and his teammates had all to eagerly jumped into the fray. To Cardin's disappointment, he spent most of his time fighting rogue Atlas bots, and very little of it was spent putting the White Fang in their place.

Team CRDL had emerged from the battle relatively unscathed, but they could hardly call it a victory. The school had been overrun, and Vale had barely been able to repel all of the Grimm. To make matters worse, the CCT had fallen too, and who could forget the massive Dragon Grimm that had appeared in the sky?

In the aftermath, students were sent home to their families. Cardin had grown up in an orphanage in one of the coastal cities south of Vale, and had transferred straight into Beacon after graduating from the combat school there. Russel and Lark were both from Mantle, and after a few goodbyes, were on the next airship home. Dove lived in a coastal city in southern Sanus, and offered Cardin the opportunity to crash with him and his family, but Cardin declined. He did not want to be a burden on the Bronzewing family. Plus, he wanted to be ready the next time the White Fang attacked. And that meant being where the people were. Cardin clenched his fists as he thought about the extremist group for what was the first of likely many times that day. Those criminals deserved to rot, every single one of them. Hell, all Faunus needed to be punished. A message needed to be sent to those savages. They were nothing but greedy, warlike animals who only cared about themselves. Cardin was disgusted when he thought about it. How could humanity tolerate these degenerates as they destroyed their cities and killed their people? Whatever, all Cardin needed to care about was being ready when the time came.

Getting up from his bed, Cardin walked the few steps to the small closet the room had. The room he had was just a small one room living area, nowhere near as large as his dormitory back at Beacon had been, but at least he had it to himself.

Reaching into the closet, Cardin pulled out his usual workout outfit: a simple gray shirt and orange gym shorts. He started every morning by going for a run before beginning his usual training routine. Cardin dressed and laced up his running shoes before exiting the room into the hallway. Walking down the hallway, Cardin exited through the front door out into the City of Vale. The early rays of the morning Sun were just starting to appear over the horizon, and there were few people about.

It had been a few months since the attack, and reparations had been going surprisingly well. Most of the buildings had been reconstructed, and things had begun to almost return to normal. Shopping centers had reopened as well as local businesses, the council had been reformed, and the City's defenses had been mostly rebuilt. Though the city was faring well, the aftermath of the attack was still fresh on everyone's minds. It showed as they nervously walked through the streets, as though something could jump out at them at any moment. It was a bit depressing to see, and Cardin was thankful that there were not many people out and about this early. After doing some light stretches, Cardin took off through the city, settling into a comfortable pace as he did so.

Cardin enjoyed running, it took his mind off of things for a while. He had been having that same nightmare for as long as he could remember, but it felt more intense recently, and Cardin's temper was wearing thin in response. Running at least allowed him to forget about it for a while. The activity always seemed to clear his head, and he found it refreshing after a rough night.

Cardin's route usually consisted of running in a straight line, turning around at his favorite park, and going home the direction he had come. That gave him the most amount of uninterrupted time to run in the park, and he felt proud of himself for planning it that way.

As Cardin entered the park, he saw a few children running and playing what appeared to be a game of tag, but other than that, the park was completely empty. Cardin was happy about that. He had the whole park to himself. Cardin continued running, picking a path that rounded the park and ended at the same entrance he came in from. The park was beautiful, and the birds had already begun to sing, and Cardin spotted a few through the trees as he followed the path. Cardin felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, and he forgot all about his dream as he came back around to the entrance.

Cardin turned as the kids he had seen from before came into view, only this time, they were not playing tag anymore. They now had formed a circle around another kid that hadn't been in their group before. The kid in the middle was actually a small fox-Faunus, as Cardin guessed by his pointed ears and bushy tail, and from the looks of it, he was scared out of his mind. The kids around him were yelling and jeering at him, apparently angry about something.

Cardin snorted and turned back to his jog.

'Twerp probably swiped their money and thought he could get away with it,' Cardin thought with contempt.

"If we don't teach this freak a lesson, he's gonna grow and become a monster just like the rest of them!"

Cardin froze in his tracks, his eyes widened slightly. What did that kid just say? Cardin turned to look back toward the group of kids. His mind currently dragged elsewhere by the words he had just heard.

"I-I think we should just go home," one of the kids in the circle said. The largest one in the circle turned toward him. The biggest one sneered and pushed the kid out of the circle.

"You wanna leave? Go then! I'm not done here!" the big one said.

Cardin's hand immediately went to his head as a sharp pain burst into his head. He growled as he tried to will away the pain, and it receded after a moment.

Shaking his head, Cardin immediately looked back over to the kids, who had now pushed the Faunus to the ground and were jeering at him from above.

The pain returned as quickly as it had gone, and Cardin did not know why, but for some reason he knew it was because of those kids. That pissed him off, and he snarled as he stomped towards the circle. He wasn't about to let them ruin his day without ruining theirs.

"HEY!" Cardin bellowed as he rapidly closed the distance toward the little group. They all turned and their eyes went wide as they saw the angry teenager approach. There was fire in his eyes. Cardin was above hitting children, but that didn't mean he didn't intend to make them shit their little pants.

Hastily, all the kids scrambled to their feet and took off through the park away from Cardin. Their feet carrying them as fast as they could to put as much distance as possible between the hulking teen and them. All but one.

Cardin turned to look as the small Faunus got to its feet. The fox-Faunus looked up at the relative giant that towered over him. For a moment he looked scared too, but his fear broke into a look of pure joy as he wrapped his little arms around Cardin's leg.

"Thank you, Mister!" the child said happily. He barely contained his happiness and began talking a mile a minute in an excited voice.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Cardin looked down at the child, initially surprised at the kid's seemingly bottomless energy. His surprise faded quickly back to anger as he roughly pushed the kid away from him.

Now it was the child's turn to look surprised. After stumbling a bit, he looked back up at Cardin with a look of betrayal and confusion.

Cardin jerked his thumb off to the side, indicating that the Faunus was not welcome here either.

"Beat it, furbag!" Cardin growled. The child stared at him shocked for a few more moments before tears slowly began welling up in its eyes. Turning away from Cardin, the child hurried away, attempting to wipe its eyes as it ran.

Cardin ground his teeth as he turned back to the exit to the park. Seeing the kid cry had only increased Cardin's rage, and he smashed his fist into a tree before taking off to finish his run. He was still seething, and he doubted any amount of running would fix his mood. But that didn't mean he couldn't try. Cardin fell into a sprint as he left the park and ran through the city once more.

Back in the park, the tree he had punched cracked loudly before breaking at the hole his fist had made. It was a large tree, and the upper trunk fell hard before slamming into the ground with a deafening thud.

A lone figure had watched the whole ordeal, unnoticed among the bushes and foliage…


	2. Chapter 2

Cardin fumed as he slammed the door to his room, nearly ripping the door off of its hinges in the process. His sprint back had done nothing to soothe his anger, and had only left him breathless and sweaty as stripped out of his running gear. Immediately changing into his armor, Cardin impatiently strapped every piece into place before grabbing his mace and storming off to the practice grounds.

The City of Vale often had huntsmen and huntresses stay within its limits, and as a result, the council had moved to put a few specific accommodations in place. In addition to a few blacksmiths and armorers in town, the council had also commissioned a training facility for those that wanted to keep their skills sharp while they lived in the city. It was not quite as sophisticated as Beacon's had been, but it was no slouch. Since the attack, some classes had been given to some citizens on how to better protect themselves, but most of the time it had been fairly empty. Cardin had seen one or two semi-familiar faces at the facility, but nobody Cardin really ever had been friends with. Realistically, Cardin didn't have any friends apart from his team, and even they had sort of been his underlings the whole time.

'Whatever,' Cardin thought as he entered one of the smaller arenas that filled the facility. This was a battle simulator; capable of simulating encounters with multiple kinds of Grimm. As Cardin entered, a holo-prompt appeared, requesting his input. Cardin typed in the desired settings for the simulator.

**Time: Day**

**Location: Forever Fall**

**Grimm: Ursa Major**

**Amount: 1**

Cardin stepped back as the environment of the simulator changed. The lighting and the walls began to change, and before he knew it, he was standing in a near perfect simulation of the Forever Fall forest. Cardin got into a battle stance and readied his mace in one hand. The mace itself was massive, but Cardin had little trouble hefting the massive weapon. Cardin always took pleasure in seeing how shocked bystanders would be when seeing him swing his mace with relative ease. It was always worth seeing the shock they wore on their faces.

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin steeled himself as a massive Ursa Major came roaring out of the surrounding foliage. The Grimm itself was simulated as well, but hitting it with a weapon would feel the same as actually hitting a live Grimm due to the nature of the simulation. Any hit the Grimm landed would send a mild shock through the victim's body. It didn't exactly simulate combat, but it served practice methods well enough.

Cardin gave a yell and charged forward at the Ursa, who in turn roared again and charged toward Cardin in retaliation. When Cardin was close enough, he twisted his body and batted away the Ursa's approaching claw with his mace. Keeping his spinning momentum, Cardin spun around and swung the mace baseball-style across the Ursa's face. The Ursa barely had time to react as the mace struck it square on the side of the face; cracking its mask and throwing it to the ground flat. As the Ursa attempted to stand up, Cardin quickly hoisted his mace above his head and brought the mace down hard on the skull of the downed Ursa. The blow crushed the Ursa's head, and Cardin felt the simulation begin to dissipate around him.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 10.78 Seconds.**

Cardin grit his teeth again. He would not be satisfied until he could kill that damn Grimm in under ten seconds. Cardin always started his practice sessions with the exact same type of Grimm, with the exact same amount, in the exact same place. All because of Jaune Arc. Cardin had been made a fool of by Jaune Arc in the Forever Fall once, and Cardin would die before he felt such embarrassment again. Jaune had grown the stones to stand up to Cardin and his cronies, and Cardin had hated it. He didn't hate Jaune, no, far from it. He respected Jaune. Jaune had stood up to him and forced Cardin to improve himself lest he look like a fool yet again. Jaune had inspired Cardin to improve his skill, and improve, Cardin indeed had. The simulator barely presented a challenge these days, and Cardin found himself more and more often scouring outside the city for a real Grimm to hunt.

But Cardin didn't feel like hunting today, he felt like killing.  _Slaughtering_  even. So he opened the holo-prompt again and typed in some commands.

**Time: Day**

**Location: Emerald Forest**

**Grimm: Beowolves**

**Amount: 5**

Cardin hesitated for a moment, then he changed the amount to ten. He stepped back as the environment changed around him again. This time, multiple trees of green sprouted from the ground followed by quite a few bushes and shrubs. Cardin once again readied his mace and stepped into a stance.

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin yelled again as his pent-up anger unleashed itself, and he crashed into the pack of Beowolves that emerged from the foliage. One after another dropped as Cardin swung his mace in a frenzy, his vision beginning to grow red at the edges as he fully embraced the slaughter.

All too soon, all ten were dead.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 40.57 Seconds.**

Cardin ran over to the holo-prompt and quickly changed one input while leaving the rest the same.

**Amount: 15**

Cardin quickly took up position again. His knuckles white on the mace in anticipation.

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin again attacked in a frenzy; he swung his mace in a wide arc to decimate as many Beowolves as possible. The red at the edges of his vision began to encroach even further. It almost completely covered his vision when the environment dropped yet again.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 1 Minute, 12.04 Seconds.**

Again, Cardin rushed to the holo-prompt. Again, he only changed one thing.

**Amount: 20**

Cardin quickly ran back and hastily took up his stance.

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin became a blur as he flung himself into the fray. He moved quickly to avoid getting swarmed, and finally the red covered his vision, all that mattered was him, his targets, and his weapon. Beowolves dropped like flies before him, and Cardin almost began to laugh at how quickly he destroyed their ranks.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 1 Min…**

The machine was interrupted as Cardin had already punched in his next input.

**Amount: 25**

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin lost track of time as he bashed in head after head. They stood no chance against him. Cardin thought he felt a slight shock or two during the fight, but that mattered little. He would not fall, it was impossible.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defe…**

Cardin was already changing the numbers.

**WARNING: Maximum Amount Reached.**

Cardin roared and shoved his scroll against the holo-prompt.

**Override Accepted: Amount: 30.**

Cardin grunted and took position again. He was nowhere near satisfied.

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin was a whirlwind. A force that could not be stopped, the weak Beowolves fell beneath him, and Cardin was nowhere near…

**Simulation Complete.**

**Maximum Strikes Taken.**

**27/30 Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 2 Minutes, 30.38 Seconds.**

Cardin blinked away the red as his mind registered what the simulation had said. If he remembered correctly, the system automatically terminated the simulation if the user was struck five times. Cardin then felt confused, when had he been hit during the fight? He barley remembered taking a scratch during the battle. Glancing down at his scroll, Cardin saw that he still was at mostly full Aura. The shocks didn't deliver that much damage, but it was enough to show on your Aura meter. The hits were indeed there. Cardin slowly felt himself calm down from the absolute rage he felt. What had he felt just now? What was going on with him? Glancing over at the holo-prompter, Cardin stared incredulously at the readout.

Thirty Beowolves?! In under three minutes?! Cardin had never fought that many before, and yet he dimly remembered tearing through them like it was nothing. It must have been due to his semblance, but what had…

Cardin was interrupted by a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over just in time to see a brown spec disappear around the corner.

"Hey! Who's there?" Cardin yelled as he jogged over to where the flash had gone. The turned the corner just in time to see the flash disappear around the next corner of the hallway.

"Hey!" Cardin yelled, louder this time. "Stop!"

Cardin put on a burst of speed as he rounded the next corner and had just enough time to grab the culprit by the shoulder before he disappeared again.

"Hey," Cardin said as he wheeled the culprit around. "What the hell do you think you…"

Cardin stepped back as he recognized the dark brown rabbit ears protruding from the top of a dark brown head. He also recognized the dark brown combat uniform belonging to the dark brown eyed stranger. She was the last person Cardin expected to see here, and he was more than surprised.

What surprised him even more was her reaction. She had obviously been watching him, but why was she staring up at him like he was some kind of alien anomaly? Cardin thought he maybe had something on his face before he realized why she was staring at him. She had probably never seen him when he…

'Never mind,' Cardin thought, interrupting himself.

"What are you doing here, freak?" Cardin said instead.

Velvet visibly flinched at the insult, but she stood her ground and said, "I…I heard a commotion and worried that you might have been in trouble. I thought you were hurt."

"Yeah, well it's a  _combat_  facility, dumb-ass. I thought those massive ears massive ears were at least worth something other than paper weights. I guess I was wrong."

Velvet shook her head, but she didn't lose her composure, and that irritated Cardin even more.

"Look," Velvet said, shyly making eye contact with Cardin. "I need to train too, and I need to familiarize myself with as many weapons as possible, so maybe I could just watch you train for a little bit, that way I could…"

"No way," Cardin sneered. "Find someone else to creep on, freak." Cardin turned and started back the way he came.

"But I only want to…" Velvet's voice pleaded from behind.

"No one cares what you want, Bun-Bun!" Cardin shouted without looking back. "Go shit in the grass or something."

…

Velvet angrily clenched her fists. She thought maybe the fall of Beacon had mellowed him out, but he seemed as angry and racist as ever. Why was he always so mean to her? She had never done anything to him! Why wouldn't he just let her watch him train for a little bit? Velvet needed to expand her weapon training, and his mace offered a unique aspect that she needed to round out her fighting style. Certainly, it would benefit them both...

'Wait,' Velvet thought. 'Did he just call me Bun-Bun?'

…

Cardin retrieved his mace from the simulator and returned to his room. Carefully removing his armor, Cardin walked across the hall to shower in the men's bathroom. Unfortunately, Cardin did not have his own bathroom, so he was forced to shower in a main area with the rest of the residents of the compound.

Luckily enough, the rebuilding of Vale had caused a majority of the residents to move back into their respective homes, so the building was more vacant than it was occupied. Cardin breathed a sigh of relief at having the shower all to himself. Cardin stepped into one of the stalls and turned on the water. He felt himself relax as the warm water relieved his tired muscles. Now that Cardin had a chance to calm down, he began to feel the after-effects of his rampage in the simulator. He felt tired to his bones, and every muscle felt like it had been tenderized with a hammer.

As Cardin began his shower routine, he found himself thinking about his encounter with rabbit-girl some odd minutes before. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Cardin had seen her around the compound a few times before, but he never approached her. She should have considered it a blessing that he wasn't seeking her out anymore. But no, she had to go and ruin his day even more. She had said something about familiarizing herself with Cardin's weapon, and Cardin had no idea what that was supposed to mean. He frowned for a moment before remembering some footage he had seen of the attack.

In the footage, that some civilian had taken with their scroll, many students were seen fighting against some of Atlas's corrupt bots. Cardin had been on the other side of the school, so he hadn't witnessed the events firsthand. But that rabbit-girl, Velvet the others called her, had used some sort of box to make hard-light versions of the other student's weapons. The copies only lasted for a few moments, but her miniature arsenal had managed to completely destroy a Paladin-290 and damage another. That was no small feat, as it usually took a team of students or even two experienced huntsmen to fight those things.

And now, Cardin figured, with all of the students gone from the school, Velvet probably had grown desperate for weapons to copy. There were only so many huntsmen here in the city, and even less than before due to the chaos the kingdom was in. So that was why she had tried to watch Cardin. From what Cardin guessed, her magic box could only make copies of weapons she had taken pictures of. Cardin had seen her around with that damn camera more times than he could count, and now he was her sole resource.

'Dream on, freak,' Cardin thought to himself. After he finished showering, Cardin dried himself off and returned to his room. He changed into a normal set of clothes, featuring a solid yellow t-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans. Looking down at his scroll, Cardin was surprised to see that it was already early in the evening. Time had flown by. Cardin felt his stomach growl, and he left his room shortly after in search of something to eat.

The compound, as well as providing rooms and utilities for the residents, also had quite an impressive cafeteria. Again, it was nowhere near as diverse and well stocked das Beacon's had been, but Cardin barely noticed. He had never been all that picky when it came to food, and the meal of chicken and rice that evening suited him just fine. Grabbing a tray and piling it high, Cardin sat down at a nearby empty table. The cafeteria was mostly empty, due to many of the previous residents having gone back to their old homes.

As Cardin ate hungrily, he suddenly had the nagging suspicion that he was being watched. Cardin looked up, and his suspicion was confirmed true as he saw a familiar pair of brown eyes looking at him from across the cafeteria.

'Great,' Cardin thought. 'Now she is stalking me.'

Velvet did not seem to react at being caught by Cardin, so he made a rude gesture from where he sat across the cafeteria. She blushed visibly, and broke her stare as she looked down at her own food. Cardin smirked and returned to his own food.

He was halfway through his meal before he felt her eyes on him again. Looking up, he saw her quickly lower her head as though finally afraid of being caught. Frowning, Cardin took a deep breath before going back to his food. He had barely lowered his fork to his plate when yet again he felt her staring at him. Cardin jerked his head up again. Again, her head lowered, almost too quick for him to catch, but her ears gave her away.

Cardin ground his teeth and clenched his hands before looking down again.

'Just ignore her…' Cardin tried to convince himself. 'A little more food, then we…'

Cardin saw a flash of white from the corner of his eyes. The flash of a camera.

That did it.

Cardin violently threw himself up from his seat, and he stormed over to where Velvet sat.

She saw him approaching. Her eyes went wide, and she quickly stuffed her camera away before quickly getting up from her seat and hurriedly making her way to the exit. Cardin broke into a sprint, and caught up to her just outside the door. Running ahead and whirling around to block her escape, Cardin stood fuming before her.

She immediately held her arms above her head, anticipating that he would grab her ears like he had so many times before. She was wrong.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Cardin bellowed. "Are all you dumb animals this stupid!?"

His hands clenched and waved violently, but he made no move to grab her ears or touch her.

"Why can't you leave anything alone?! Why can't ANY of you leave anything alone?" Cardin yelled again. Velvet tried to withstand the verbal barrage, but her barriers were crumbling.

"Always gotta stick your damn dirty noses in everyone's business! Never satisfied with what you've got!"

Velvet tried to hold back, but it was no use. Tears began streaming down her face and silent sobs began to rack her body. She tried to get a hold of herself, but she only cried harder.

Cardin saw her begin to cry and was about to make another snide remark before pain spontaneously exploded in his head again.

"AAGH!" Cardin yelled in agony. He pressed both of his palms against the side of his head.

He wasn't sure how, or even how he knew, but he somehow understood that this bursting pain in his skull was linked to the crying girl in front of him.

"GAH! KNOCK IT OFF!" Cardin roared. Whether out of fear or embarrassment, Velvet only seemed to sob harder. The pain in Cardin's head intensified in response.

"OK! ALRIGHT, FINE!" Cardin yelled in desperation. "YOU CAN WATCH ME TRAIN AND TAKE YOUR SHITTY PICTURES! WHATEVER!"

Cardin didn't know if it would work, but his head hurt so much that he had to try something. Thankfully, Velvet seemed to quiet down. Cardin panted as the pain in his head receded as well. Thank Oum.

Taking his hands off his head, Cardin looked down to Velvet again. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and she was trembling slightly, but at least she had stopped crying.

"What…what did you say?" she asked, sounding fearful of another outburst from Cardin.

Cardin took a moment to slow his breathing down. After a quick moment, he grumbled something.

Velvet's sensitive ears picked up the words, but she still couldn't believe what he had said.

"Wha…what?" She asked again.

"Yes, you can watch me and take pictures!" Cardin said quickly and with great irritation.

"You mean it?" Velvet still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You calling me a liar?" Cardin said accusingly. His patience was next to none. It had been tested way too much that day.

"No! I just- "

"This doesn't make us anything close to friends! This doesn't mean you can talk to me! This doesn't mean that you can sit next to me in the cafeteria! It just means you can play with your stupid little camera because I'm letting you. Got it?"

Velvet nodded her head wildly. Still fearful that Cardin was a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode at the slightest bump. She would rather not set him off.

Cardin stared at her for a moment after her fervent nodding, then turned on his heel and marched away without another word.

Velvet watched him go, and she only relaxed after he rounded the corner and disappeared from view. Her hands were still trembling slightly, and she calmed herself down before taking out her camera again. Looking through her pictures, there were only two in her camera's memory of the orange-haired Cardin. One she had just taken, and it had nearly cost her life. The second was from the simulator. In the picture he stood, slightly exhausted, his mace resting easily on his shoulder as he examined his score. Velvet frowned before taking a closer look at the picture. Something caught her eye that she had never seemed to notice before. Had he always been so tall?

…

Cardin slammed the door to his room behind him. He quickly ran to the mirror he had placed next to his closet and looked at his reflection. What was happening to his head? That was now twice today that he had excruciating headaches. They hadn't been any normal headaches either. They had all been agonizing, as though someone had been trying to bash his skull in with a hammer. And each time they had happened, he had somehow known what the cause had been. But none of it made any sense. Neither of those instances were linked in any way to headaches, so what was going on?

Realizing that he was not about to find answers any time soon, Cardin laid flat on his back on the bed and thought about what he had promised Velvet not more than two minutes ago. Whether he liked it or not, the rabbit-Faunus would now be watching him each time he practiced with his mace. Not just watching him even, she would be taking pictures too.

'Maybe it won't be so bad,' Cardin thought to himself. 'As long as she stays out of my way, things will be fine. She won't get in my way, right?'

Cardin groaned as he already knew the answer to that question. But he couldn't back down now. Cardin was a lot of things, but he always kept his promises. It was one of the few sources of pride he had left. Cardin sighed. It was barely lunchtime, and he was already eager to get this day over with. He wondered if tomorrow would be any better.


	3. Chapter 3

Cardin opened his eyes to sunlight piercing through his bedroom window. The nightmare hadn't come last night, which was a relief. Some nights it left him alone, and last night Cardin had slept peacefully. His moment of peace was short-lived, however, and he groaned as the events of yesterday returned to him. That's right, he was now the subject of interest to someone. And that someone was a  _Faunus_  no less. Cardin already began regretting the promise he made yesterday. He felt like a guinea pig, forced to go through a maze for someone else's pleasure.

Cardin groaned again as he stepped out of bed.

'Might as well enjoy what little time to myself I have left,' he thought as he changed into his running gear. After slipping on his tennis shoes, Cardin walked out of his room, down the hallway, and out of the compound. Once outside, Cardin did a few quick stretches before he started his jog. Following the same path as yesterday, Cardin felt his head immediately clear as he navigated the streets of Vale.

The morning was very peaceful, and Cardin felt the warm rays of the rising sun on his neck as he jogged. In no time, Cardin had reached the park. Memories of yesterday tugged on his mind, but the park appeared to be empty today. No kids. Cardin appreciated that. His patience still hadn't entirely recovered from yesterday.

Cardin entered the park, and found himself smiling as he jogged around the loop. The view was great, and everything about this place seemed peaceful. The birds were singing in the trees, and the flowers stood tall, boldly displaying their distinct colors. Sooner than Cardin would have liked, he had jogged all the way around the park and was on his way home. The streets were mostly empty too, and Cardin only saw a few folks walking on the sidewalk as he passed. They were most likely on their way to work, and Cardin paid them little mind as he returned the compound.

Soon Cardin was back in his room, changing into his armor again. As he strapped everything into place, Cardin remembered once again that he wouldn't be alone today in the compound.

'Let's just get this over with,' he thought to himself as he again stepped out of his room.

…

Cardin looked around as he entered the same arena he had used yesterday. There was no sign of Velvet or her camera, and Cardin was appreciative of that. Maybe he would be able to get a few rounds in before his day would be inevitably ruined. Approaching the holo-prompt, Cardin remembered his rampage that he had gone on yesterday. His memory had been fuzzy of the whole ordeal, but he remembered overriding the system to spawn thirty Beowolves at some point. That didn't surprise him too much, except the fact that he had almost killed all of them in under three minutes. Even the best of Beacon's students had only been able to finish the course in three minutes and thirty seconds, and Cardin had almost destroyed that record.

Despite his almost record-breaking warpath from yesterday, Cardin decided he would train with a few different varieties of Grimm today. The simulator had its limits on what size of Grimm it could create, but there were still a multitude of smaller Grimm available for Cardin to work with. As Cardin scrolled through the different types, an annoyingly familiar flash caught the corner of his eye. Turning to look in the direction of the flash, Cardin was not surprised to see Velvet peeking around the corner of the arena. She held her camera defensively, as though it was key to protecting her from an attacker. An attacker that Cardin guessed was supposed to be him.

Cardin was annoyed to see her, to be sure, but he found himself even more agitated by the fact that she refused to fully enter the arena. There were spectator seats, located well away from the battle floor, but Velvet seemed determined to keep her distance.

Cardin called over to her. "If you're gonna watch, then watch. If you're gonna leave, then leave. But don't stand there like a twerp."

Velvet seemed to consider Cardin's words before slowly moving to sit in some of the spectator seats. Cardin watched her as she moved. She still seemed very unsure of herself, and her steps seemed tentative. Cardin snorted in half-amusement. Dumb bunny looked like she was moving through a mine field.

Velvet heard his humorous noise and looked at him quizzically. Cardin rolled his eyes and turned back to the holo-prompt. Cardin was considering a fight with a few Boarbatusk when a thought crossed his mind. This freak seated behind him wanted pictures. Not just pictures, action shots. Cardin smirked as an idea popped into his head.

'You want action shots, freak? I'll give you action shots.'

Cardin punched his selection into the holo-prompt, and stepped back as the simulator hummed to life.

**Time: Day**

**Location: Emerald Forest**

**Grimm: Beringel**

**Amount: 1**

Cardin looked to the spectator seats and smirked again at Velvet's reaction to his choice. Beringels were some of the hardest Grimm to kill, even though they were nowhere near the size of a Nevermore or a Death Stalker. They were incredibly smart, resourceful, and dangerous. They were also fast, and for how fast they were, they were twice as strong. Even experienced huntsmen had trouble with these beasts, and Cardin had selected one as the first Grimm for him to fight. He had even skipped his usual first match with an Ursa Major in the Forever Fall.

The landscape changed around Cardin, morphing into the familiar flora that was the Emerald Forest. The landscape finished its transformation, and Cardin experienced a beat of silence before a blood-curdling roar shook the arena. A massive black mass exploded from the foliage, and Cardin barely had time to react before the black monstrosity charged him.

Snapping to his senses, Cardin rolled out of the way as the Beringel barreled past him. Finishing the roll and landing neatly on his feet, Cardin wasted no time as he quickly transitioned into an all-out sprint towards the beast, who had recovered from its charge. It growled, and began running towards Cardin as well. As the two approached each other, Cardin anticipated the Beringel's movements as it raised a massive claw to swipe at him. Cardin timed it perfectly and ducked under the Beringel's swing. As the claw passed over him, Cardin gripped his mace tightly in both hands before swinging directly upward with a powerful two-handed blow. The mace struck the beast directly underneath the chin, and Cardin heard a satisfying crack as he shattered some of the Beringel's teeth. The monster roared in pain, and it reeled backwards as the momentum of the attack carried through.

'Hope you caught that one, camera girl,' Cardin thought to himself. He had no time to look over and see if she had, as the Beringel had quickly recovered and was now attempting to strike Cardin again. Cardin knew that a Beringel was too smart to fall for the same attack again, and patiently waited for another opening to reveal itself.

As the battle continued, Cardin ended up in a stalemate against the monster, and neither really seemed to land a significant strike on the other. Cardin had sustained two hits during the fight so far, while landing a few glancing blows on the Beringel in return. Despite their apparent even match, Cardin knew that he would tire out before the Grimm did, and that meant that if he dragged this out too long, the Grimm would breach his defenses and he would be toast.

Cardin was thinking up a strategy when the Grimm suddenly grabbed his mace. Cardin was shocked as the Beringel's massive claw wrapped around the weapon, wrenching it from his grasp. Cardin recoiled as the Beringel hurled the mace to the side. That was new. That was  _very_  new. They must have upgraded the system to make the Grimm more difficult, and Cardin had no idea what to do next. His mace was gone, and there was no way Cardin could beat this thing in hand-to-hand combat.

'No,' Cardin internally growled. He wasn't going to look like a fool in front of a Faunus, he wasn't about to give her a reason to get arrogant like the rest of her species. With renewed tenacity, Cardin focused on the Grimm before him. The Beringel now began to attack Cardin with no thought of defense whatsoever. It seemed to think that with the loss of his mace, Cardin was vulnerable. It was right, of course, but Cardin quickly realized that he might not need the mace to land a definitive hit. A plan quickly formed in Cardin's mind as he dodged out of the way of the Beringel's destructive blows.

Dancing away to gain some space, Cardin adopted a wide stance with his arms ready at his sides. He waited for the Beringel to charge again.

Sure enough, the massive creature roared and barreled toward Cardin, full-tilt. Cardin knew it was waiting for him to make a move, and he was ready. He quickly jerked left, as if he was dodging to the side. Just as he had planned, the Beringel threw a massive punch to Cardin's left side, but Cardin had remained where he was, and the massive fist sailed past harmlessly. Cardin took advantage of the Grimm's missed attack and threw himself to the Beringel's left flank, right next to its leg. Just like he had planned.

Praying to Oum that his would work, Cardin drew his fist back and pumped it full of aura. As much aura as he could muster. His hand glowed a bright orange with the power, and Cardin could feel the heat as it churned within his fist.

Before the Berningel could turn towards him, Cardin slammed his aura-infused fist into the monster's knee with all his might.

There was a sickening crunch as the bones in the Beringel's leg shattered, then its entire left leg exploded. Bits of bone and darkness flew all around Cardin, and the Beringel bellowed in pain as it toppled over onto its now unsupported left side.

Seizing the opportunity, Cardin sprinted to his mace. Cardin knew his time was short, and he wasted no time grabbing the weapon and rushing back to the Beringel, which was trying to pick itself up off the ground. It was having difficulty, since it now only had one functioning leg. Cardin hoisted his mace in one hand and swept the Beringel's arms out from underneath it, causing the Grimm to completely lose its balance. The Beringel roared again as it fell flat on the ground, its jaw bouncing off the simulated forest floor.

Cardin grunted as he again gripped his mace in two hands. Hoisting the blunt weapon high above his head. Yelling in fury, he brought the hulking metal down on the Beringel's head with earth-shattering force. Grimm plate was strong, but it was no match against a heavy metal weapon swinging with the combined force of Cardin's muscles and gravity. The Beringel's skull caved like paper, and the Grimm instantly fell silent.

Cardin exhaled loudly as Grimm and the scenery melted into nothingness around him. He had been victorious.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 3 Minutes, 26.34 Seconds.**

Cardin jerked his head to the readout. Seriously?! Cardin was certain that he had broken a record this time. As he recalled, the fastest any student at Beacon had ever beaten a Beringel was three minutes and forty seconds. Cardin could hardly believe it. He had always been formidable at fighting, but he had never placed first in anything, and he had certainly never broken any records. Cardin felt his chest swell with pride at the realization. For the first time in a long time, Cardin felt genuine joy. Damn, it felt good.

Cardin suddenly remembered that he was not alone in the arena. Turning to look over where Velvet sat, Cardin took pleasure in seeing her staring back at him, her eyes bulging out of her head in complete surprise. Cardin laughed and called over to her.

"What's the matter? Never seen a beat-down like that before?" Cardin gloated. Casually resting his mace on his shoulder, Cardin sauntered over to where the girl sat. She was now going through the pictures she had taken, and she looked up as Cardin approached her. Shock reappeared on her face, and Cardin was pretty sure he knew why. He smirked down at her.

"Class dismissed, time to go back to your rabbit-hole, Bun-Bun," Cardin said with an air of haughtiness. He then turned on his heel and strutted out of the arena with a level of cheekiness Velvet had never even considered possible. Velvet watched him leave, and a blanket of silence settled around her. A myriad of emotions flowed through her head all at once, and she didn't even know where to begin. She was shocked and awed by Cardin's remarkable performance, as not even Yatsuhashi had been able to kill a Beringel that fast back at Beacon. He had always been the strongest of Team CFVY, but Cardin's performance had just put him to shame. She also felt genuinely excited by the number of pictures she had been able to take. Not only would this increase the time she could use her light-copy, but more pictures to study meant her semblance would be more effective at mimicking Cardin's fighting style. Velvet suddenly felt her fists clench. She was also furious. Cardin's victory had gone directly to his head, and he had wasted no time in gloating over his victory and making more racial remarks towards her. That aggravated her to no end. Velvet had always turned the other cheek towards his bullying behavior, but that didn't mean she secretly wanted to smash his stupid, arrogant teeth in. Looking back down at a picture she had taken of Cardin, Velvet's anger immediately faded as she noticed something. Something she had initially dismissed. But now as she examined it closer, Velvet's suspicion finally culminated. Quickly getting up from the spectator's area, Velvet hurried off to develop her pictures. She needed to do some research.

…

Cardin was still smilingly broadly as he stepped out of the shower. His happiness continued to linger as he dressed and made his way to the cafeteria. They were serving spaghetti, and Cardin eagerly loaded his tray and plopped himself at an empty table. He was just about to dig in when an annoyingly familiar voice spoke from across the table.

"How tall are you?"

Cardin looked up to see Velvet standing across from him with a tray of food firmly grasped in both hands. She seemed to be concerned about something, and Cardin's giddiness began to dissipate.

"What kind of question is that?" Cardin retorted in half-annoyance and half-confusion.

"One with a straightforward answer," Velvet replied almost immediately. She set her tray down on the table and took a seat opposite Cardin. He immediately opened his mouth to protest when she repeated her question.

"How tall are you?" she asked, a bit more forcefully this time. Cardin was starting to get angry.

"Even if I considered that to be an even a remotely normal question," Cardin said in an antagonizing tone. "There would be a snowball's chance in hell that I would tell you."

Cardin grew even more disgruntled as Velvet showed no indication of backing down.

"Your armor is an curous as well. It's made of a rare metal that I've seen only once before. It's a metal with interesting properties, it always conforms to a perfect fit for the user…"

Cardin sighed and dropped his fork to his tray.

"It's called Protentium, now would you please leave me alone?" Cardin asked. He didn't feel like yelling…yet.

"Yes. Protentium," Velvet nodded, completely ignoring Cardin's plea. "It is strong yet extremely malleable, people find it useful in armor that is shared among multiple…"

Cardin's temper flared. He slammed his hands down on the table.

"I'm 6'3"! Okay? Are you happy now?!"

Cardin looked around and saw every eye in the cafeteria on him. For some reason, there were actually quite a few people this time. And Cardin was causing quite a scene for all of them to see. Cardin felt himself go slightly red, and he ducked his head to try and hide his embarrassment. Velvet stared at him for a few moments before speaking again, her brow furrowed inquisitively.

"You are not 6'3"," she said flatly.

"What are you talking about? What do you want me to say?" Cardin growled in exasperation. "Why do you even want to know?"

"I want to know because right now, I stand taller than you if you count my ears," Velvet said. "But this afternoon in the arena, I could've sworn you were just as tall as Yatsuhashi. And he is seven feet tall. That doesn't fit, and along with your armor, I'd almost assume…"

Velvet froze for a second. Then her eyebrows lifted high on her face as everything clicked together.

"It's your semblance," she stated triumphantly. "It has to be."

Cardin groaned again and ran clenched his teeth before responding.

"Yeah, no shit super sleuth! You cracked the case!" Sarcasm almost visibly dripped from his mouth.

Velvet frowned at him again, and Cardin realized that there was no way she was going to leave him alone now. He could leave, but he was very hungry and everyone was still glancing over at him. If he left now, he would look like a coward. And that was a fate worse than death. Seeing no way out of this, so Cardin resigned himself to her persistent questioning. Maybe she'd leave if he told her what she wanted to know.

"My body gets bigger or smaller based on how confident or prideful I'm feeling," he said begrudgingly. He wasn't even sure why he was telling her this, but he didn't feel like fighting it. "Smallest I can get is about 6'0", I'm probably right about there now."

Now why had he told her that? It had just slipped out. Cardin internally kicked himself.

"Biggest I've gotten is about 7'0". I was probably about that size in the simulator."

What was happening? He was giving away too much information, but it was just happening naturally.

Velvet nodded her head, urging him to continue. Cardin snorted before starting again.

'Whatever,' he thought to himself, 'it's not like she is gonna do anything with this information anyway.'

"My armor is made of Protentium, like you said. It's a family heirloom. My semblance is hereditary."

Velvet nodded her head again. All of her previous questions had been answered, but as she continued listening to Cardin, fresh ones appeared in her mind. She had so many, but she decided that it wasn't fair for her to ask so much about Cardin without giving a little information about herself in return.

"I discovered my semblance while watching TV one day. I tried copying the moves of the action hero in a movie, and I nailed them all exactly," she said. She hoped she would get at least a half-smile from the fiery-haired boy, but Cardin just snorted and crossed his arms. He wasn't meeting her gaze, but he didn't say anything, so Velvet took it as her cue to continue.

"When I discovered that I could copy the moves of anyone, at first I was really excited. It only made sense to craft a weapon that could copy their weapons too. It was the perfect set."

Cardin grunted, indicating that he was still listening.

"But then I realized just how stupid they both were," Velvet admitted, her ears drooping in sadness. Cardin finally turned to look at her.

"Yeah right," he said, rolling his eyes. "It must be terrible to have everyone's best moves at your disposal. Must really hurt having the most diverse fighting style in existence." Sarcasm had found its way into his voice again, and Velvet shook her head.

"You don't understand. Living my whole life having to copy everyone else to progress feels awful! I can never make my own unique weapon, or even have my own fighting style!" Velvet's voice cracked slightly. This had always been a touchy subject for her, and saying it out loud felt painful and relieving at the same time. And Cardin was now looking at her, seemingly interested in her dilemma.

"There's nothing for me to be proud of!" she continued. "All of my skill and ingenuity has been copied from someone else! It's the ultimate form of plagiarism, and I hate it!"

Velvet took a moment to compose herself. She had never told anyone about her true feelings before, and she wondered why she was confessing to  _Cardin_  out of all people. She knew he was going to ridicule her for talking about this, and she lowered her head in anticipation for his verbal barrage.

"If it bugs you that much, just make a hybrid weapon."

Velvet's head snapped back up in surprise. Cardin was still looking at her. His arms remained crossed.

"Wh…What?" Velvet said, utterly confused.

Cardin shook his head in frustration. Stupid rabbit.

"Just pick your two or three favorite weapons and make a hybrid version, dumbass. You can still use the same moves for the original weapons while mixing them together to make their own."

"But…but that is still using their fighting styles," Velvet countered.

"Look," Cardin said, rubbing his temples. "People have been mixing and copying weapons forever. Every weapon that you think is unique, has already been used a thousand times before by somebody else. And if this is about individuality, forget it. I don't know if you've noticed, but everyone and their freaking grandmother uses a katana these days. So, stop worrying about it."

Velvet was taken aback. She had never thought of it like that before. Now that she  _was_  thinking about it, almost everyone she knew, even her own team, had taken their inspiration for their weapons from someone else. She could do that too, she realized. Only she could do it better. With her camera and acute semblance, she could craft anything she wanted! Looking back at Cardin, she smiled as a thought came into her head.

"Nothing is unique, huh? Not even maces?"

Cardin glared sidelong at her, then he chuckled lightly.

"Not even maces.  _Especially_  not maces."

Velvet giggled. It was the first time she had laughed in a while, and it was in front of  _Cardin_  no less. The same Cardin who had been her source of torment for almost two years at Beacon academy, and the same man who was the reason she cried in her room sometimes, cursing her ears for making her stand out so much. For some reason, he hated her and all Faunus-kind, yet he had made her laugh, and he had laughed too. Velvet wasn't sure what to think about that.

Cardin heard Velvet giggle, and that made him sick to his stomach for some reason. This felt wrong. Very very wrong. Cardin quickly decided that he wasn't hungry anymore. Standing up quickly, Cardin turned wordlessly and left the cafeteria, his tray left untouched. To hell with what everyone else thought, he had to get out of there.

Velvet watched his back until he walked through the doors to the cafeteria and disappeared from sight. Wordlessly, she too left the cafeteria, and she decided that she needed to take a walk to think about things for a little while. As Velvet walked outside and out of the compound, she saw that it was already dark out. The stars shone brightly above the city, and Velvet was momentarily captivated as the celestial lights twinkled above her. As she began walking, her mind drifted to the conversation she had just had with Cardin. Cardin was a bully, plain and simple. He was a racist, uncaring, sadistic boy who only cared for himself, and Velvet thought that he would never amount to more than that. He'd always be like this, and he would die a lonely and angry old man. Velvet had always predicted that as his fate. But in the course of one day, Cardin had managed to shake the foundation of her thoughts on him. Not only had he proven himself a capable fighter in the arena, certainly miles better than he had been at Beacon, but he also showed that there was more to him that she originally thought. Their conversation in the cafeteria had seemed almost…pleasant. In fact, while they had been talking, Velvet had almost forgotten how poorly Cardin treated her. He had almost seemed like a decent guy. Velvet shook her head as she continued walking, paying little attention to where she was going, she just let her feet carry her as she lost herself in thought.

Maybe Cardin wasn't bad as she originally thought. Maybe under that  _extremely_  thick blanket of racism and hate, there was somebody that wasn't so bad. Maybe, with Velvet's help, he could learn to be tolerant of people that were different. Maybe he could see them as potential friends or even something more. Maybe she…

"Hey!"

Velvet jumped and looked around wildly. She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going, and had walked into a more secluded part of Vale. This place wasn't exactly where anyone wanted to be when the Sun was down. Least of all a Faunus. And now, she found herself surrounded by a gang of street thugs. Each one's was face a twisted sneer of malicious intent.

"You lost little bunny?" one of them said. "It's not safe to walk alone at night, you know."

"I uh…I'm just heading home," Velvet said. "Thanks though."

One of them grabbed her arm. "Not so fast, long ears. First, I think you owe us an apology for what your kind did to us."

Velvet's heart began to beat faster as she realized just how much danger she was in. It was time to make a decision. Normally, Velvet would jump up and out of the ring to escape. It'd be simple, and she knew she could probably outrun these gutter rats with ease, but Velvet suddenly felt very angry. She was tired of being called a freak or being ridiculed for something that she was proud of. All her life, people had laughed at her ears or jeered at her, and every time it happened, she had the patience to let it go. But her patience had finally run out. She was done turning the other cheek, and it was high time she kicked somebody's teeth in.

Taking a quick count, Velvet saw that there were six thugs in total. Potentially a problem for an average street walker, but Velvet was in no way average.

Steeling herself, Velvet suddenly pulled her arm in, dragging the thug with it. Simultaneously, she shifted her weight and delivered a powerful side-kick directly into the abdomen of the poor soul. The combination of his momentum pulling him forward and Velvet's kick thrusting him away doubled the power of the impact, and air rushed from the thug's lungs as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He hadn't even been able to activate his aura.

The other thugs froze in surprise, and that gave Velvet just enough time to launch a flying kick into the chest of the second thug. He grunted before stumbling backward, almost losing his balance. He had activated his aura just in time, but there was no doubt that Velvet had just depleted a chunk of it. Velvet quickly turned her attention to the other thugs as they all recovered from their initial shock.

"Big mistake, freak," the one from before spoke again. Velvet smirked. Funny, she was just about to say the same thing. She coiled in preparation, then lunged for the thug that had spoken.

…

Cardin groaned as he lay back on his bed. His headache returning slightly as he sprawled out, totally at a loss. He was confused, and felt like everything was off balance, especially with a certain rabbit-eared girl…

Cardin shook his head to try and manage his thoughts, but his mind settled on the conversation he had just had with Velvet. Why had he told her so much about himself? Why had he even let her sit next to him in the first place? She was a  _Faunus_ , and that meant she was greedy, dirty, and inferior by default. Yet somehow, Cardin had seemed to forget all of that as they had talked. The conversation had just seemed to flow so easily, almost natural, and Cardin hadn't even considered what he was doing until she had giggled. She had  _giggled._ At something  _he_  had said, no less. What made matters even worse was that he had laughed too. It had been a slight chuckle, but it definitely counted. Cardin focused on that. Why had he laughed? What had made him suddenly express such an emotion? Cardin gulped as a possible conclusion entered his mind.

He couldn't have been enjoying himself, could he? Not while talking to a Faunus, certainly. Cardin suddenly got up from his bed as questions swarmed his mind. Answers were nowhere near in sight. Growing frustrated again, Cardin decided a walk would be good to clear his head. Reaching for the door handle, Cardin found himself nodding.

'Yeah, a walk would be good. That always helps to relieve stress,' he thought to himself.

…

Velvet grunted as she kicked the thug in the face again, causing him to topple over as he clutched his nose. The other thugs were strewn about, all of which were sporting injuries. Some were still conscious and groaning as they rolled back and forth, others were motionless on the concrete. Velvet had done a thorough job, and only one thug still presented a threat to her.

As Velvet approached the thug, who was on his knees from her previous blow, the thug threw his hands above his head in a pitiful excuse for a defense.

"Please, stop!" he cried out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! We were wrong! I promise I'll never try to hurt anyone ever again!"

Velvet hesitated, looking down at the pitiful mass in front of her. He seemed to fragile, so weak. Velvet thought for a moment before speaking.

"You promise?" she asked.

The thug's features suddenly morphed into a malicious grin, and Velvet was shocked by his reaction.

"Nope! Nighty-night, girlie!"

Velvet barely had time to think what that meant before the world went black.

…

Cardin shook his head as he continued walking, paying little attention to where he was going, he just let his feet decide as he stared at the ground, lost in thought.

_Maybe_ , just maybe, Velvet was a little different from the rest of the Faunus. Maybe under that  _extremely_  thick blanket of greediness and primalism, there was somebody that wasn't so bad. 'Maybe,' Cardin thought. 'The whole lot of those animals, er…people, aren't quite as evil as I thought they were.' Maybe, they weren't such freaks after all. Maybe he…

Cardin's train of thought derailed as he heard commotion nearby. Looking around, he realized that his feet had taken him to the less desirable district of the city. Whatever that commotion had been, Cardin did not want any part of it. Turning to leave, Cardin stopped dead as he heard voices from the direction of the noise.

"This is what happens when animals get uppity," a sleazy voice said from around the corner.

"They go to sleep, boss?" another voice asked.

"No, you idiot! They get put down! And luckily for us, this one is probably worth a fortune, she ain't dead yet, but I hear rabbit ears go for a high price these days…"

Cardin's heart began thudding in his ears at that last statement. Surely it couldn't be…No. There was no way. These guys sounded like ignorant assholes, there was no way they'd be able to overpower a skilled huntsman such as…

"Hey guys look, she's even got a little camera!"

Cardin barely registered what he was doing before he rushed around the corner. A small group entered his vision, and Cardin saw a few bodies lying on the sidewalk. The ones still standing were huddled around one body in particular, and Cardin instantly recognized those brown ears in the shattered moonlight.

"Hey!" Cardin yelled as he stormed towards the group. The all turned to look at him.

"This don't concern you chief," the one closest to him said. Cardin assumed that this one was the leader, as he recognized his voice as the one that had spoken from before. "Buzz off."

"Get away from her!" Cardin yelled. He was almost upon the group, and the leader stepped out to intercept him. Pulling out a knife, the leader sneered at Cardin.

"You just signed your own death warrant, assho- "

Cardin's fist slammed into the thug's chin, and Cardin felt the thug's jaw break as he sailed into one of his buddies. Collapsing in a heap, neither the leader nor the thug he collided with moved. They were out cold, and the remaining thugs looked from them to Cardin with terrified eyes.

"Who's next?" Cardin threatened, cracking his knuckles.

The remaining thugs wasted no time in turning in the opposite direction and fleeing into the night. Cardin watched them go, before turning to look at each of the other thugs lying on the ground.

"Cowards," Cardin said aloud. They didn't even take their buddies with them.

Cardin's eyes then fell on Velvet, who was unconscious but looked otherwise unharmed. Cardin checked for any wounds, but he found no bruises, cuts, or gunshot holes. There was a small lump forming on the back of her head, and Cardin guessed one of them had gotten the drop on her from behind. Other than that, she was okay. Her aura could heal that in no time. Cardin let out a sigh of relief. His eyes then fell on her camera. One of the thugs had dropped it during their escape. It seemed to be alright too, but Cardin had no idea how the machine worked, and he picked it up and put it in his pocket. He then scooped Velvet up in both arms, holding her high on his chest. He shifted her weight so that her head fell forward onto his shoulder. The last thing she needed was to wake up with whiplash. Satisfied with where she was, Cardin turned and began the trek back to the compound.


	4. Chapter 4

At first, there was nothing. No thoughts, no words, no sounds, no smells, and no light. Then Velvet was suddenly acutely aware of a ringing in her ears. Then she felt a warmth spread throughout her body. It was powerful and it flowed freely, as though it was the first time she had felt anything at all. She then became aware of her own breathing, and she listened to the rhythmic wind that rushed in and out of her nose. It was hypnotic, and Velvet listened to the beat for a few moments. She was content, until she felt an impulse that something was different. Something was off, not quite wrong, but off none the less. Her meditative trance quickly broke as Velvet opened her eyes.

Her senses instantly told her that this was not her room, although it might have been another room in the same compound she lived in. Examining the walls, Velvet saw that while her own room had a number of posters featuring her favorite boy-bands from across Remnant, these walls were relatively empty, with just one poster one the wall depicting Spruce Willis driving a sports car while leaving a massive explosion in his wake.

Velvet's eyes next examined the rest of the room, noticing that this room was a little bit messier than hers, even though whoever lived here seemed to own much less than she did. Her eyes transferred from the dresser in the corner to the desk in the center, then to the door in the other corner, then to Cardin slumped in the chair at the foot of the bed, then to the end table by…

Velvet's head immediately snapped back to Cardin's inert form at the foot of the bed. He appeared to be dozing in the chair, and Velvet quickly realized that this room must have been his. She had figured he lived somewhere in the compound too, but that thought was lost quickly as questions filled her mind. Velvet wanted to wake Cardin and immediately demand what was going on when the events before her blackout rushed back into her head. She remembered being on the verge of victory against those thugs, but someone must have knocked her out when she had shown mercy.

Velvet quickly raised an arm and felt at the back of her head. A small lump had begun to form, but Velvet doubted that it was anything serious. Velvet's eyes snapped back to Cardin as he began to stir in his chair. She remained silent as Cardin looked up to see her staring back at him from her position on the bed.

For a few moments, silence reigned as the two stared back at each other. Then, Cardin sighed deeply and broke his gaze.

"Hey," he said, there was an attempt to keep his tone light, but Velvet knew something was going on with him too.

"What happened?" Velvet asked, suddenly growing very suspicious of Cardin. For all she knew, he could be one of them. Maybe he had been the one to knock her out. She tried not to dwell too much on what that meant if she was right.

Cardin shrugged his shoulders and told her what had occurred after she had blacked out. Velvet became more and more surprised as the story continued, and she was downright incredulous as Cardin finished the story.

"…and then I set you down on the bed and waited. That brings us to now." Cardin said, looking up at her again. The room quieted once more.

"I don't believe you," Velvet said. Her voice held a twinge of nervousness, but she stood her ground.

This time it was Cardin's turn to be incredulous.

"What do you mean?" he demanded, his voice already rising. "What the hell do you think happened?"

"I don't know," Velvet said. "But I don't believe that you saved me from those thugs and brought me all the way back here."

"Well, why not?!" Cardin said, standing from his chair. He threw his arms up as well.

"Because you're just like them, Cardin!" Velvet yelled, standing up as well. She was not sure where this confidence was coming from, but she was determined not to let it go to waste.

"You hate me, you hate all Faunus! For as long as I've had the displeasure of knowing you, all you've done is make my life miserable! Always treating me and those like me like trash! Never understanding that we are people too! You never understand!"

Velvet was surprised at herself. The amount of confidence had never shown itself in her before, but Velvet was tired. Tired of being treated like an animal, tired of never standing up for herself, and most importantly, tired of Cardin.

"Part of the reason why the White Fang is so large is because it is full of Faunus that are tired of being treated like dirt! It's true, their methods are despicable and violent, but I guess they learned from the best, didn't they?! You never see it from the other side! Look around you! Look at the people! Don't you see how scared they are?! That's exactly what it's like! So many of the Faunus are scared of what will happen to them! Whether or not they make it home safe every night, because of people like you!"

Velvet paused to take a breath. Cardin was stunned, and Velvet was pleased that he was finally listening to her for once.

"So, no! I don't believe you! Why would I ever believe that you would stick your neck out for such a 'freak' like me? Knowing you and your friends, you probably would've walked away, or even joined in! Make it one less piece of trash in the world I suppose!"

Velvet was visibly shaking from her outburst, and she watched Cardin for how he would react.

Cardin stared at her for a moment, and then his shoulders fell and he sighed sadly. Sitting back down in his chair, Cardin folded his hands and hung his head low as he began to speak.

"You're right," He said. Velvet could hardly believe her ears, either pair of them.

"You're right," Cardin said again. "My whole life I bought into the notion that you were all savages. I saw you all as a pathetic group of individuals who knew nothing but how to hurt and kill others. But recently it hasn't been that way.  _You_  haven't been that way. I don't know why now, or even what caused it, but I don't feel that way anymore." He looked up at her. Meeting her eyes again. "I'm…I'm sorry. Velvet."

Velvet was startled as he actually said her name. Her true name. Not 'freak' or 'long-ears' or 'rabbit-girl', but 'Velvet'. But despite his apology, Velvet shook her head angrily. He wasn't off that easy, not after almost two years of torturing her.

"Why?" she asked him. "Why do you hate me? Why do you hate  _us_?"

She had to know. She wanted to at least try to understand what had bred such hatred.

Cardin's gaze dropped again. He seemed to be wrestling with himself. Deciding what to say next. Velvet waited.

"I guess…I guess I learned that at a very young age," Cardin started.

"When I was young, maybe five or six, I lived in a small village outside the city. I don't remember much about it, or even much about where it was, but I remember having a family. A mom and a dad, that sort of thing."

Velvet listened patiently to what he said.

"I don't remember much about what they were like, but I remember how they were taken from me," Cardin continued. His voice grew hard.

"I remember waking up late one night, and smelling smoke. My mother came and grabbed me from my bed, and we hurried into the living room. My father was there too. They seemed to be arguing about something. I think my father wanted to try and help our neighbors, but my mother was begging him to stay. My father made up his mind, and he ran out the front door and into the night. My mother screamed and went after him, hopefully to bring him back, but neither of them returned. Instead, the house began to burn, and two White Fang members came through the door. They both had blood on their hands and mouths, and I still wonder if it was my parents'. They argued about me, whether or not to kill me or leave me to die. The choice was made for them when the Vale police arrived. They both ran and escaped, and I was taken to an orphanage within the city."

Velvet sat back down on the bed as Cardin continued.

"Those were the first Faunus I had ever seen, and I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I locked in on the notion that all Faunus were like them. That made me fear them, and my fear turned to anger, and then to hatred. And for a long time, you were on the receiving end of that hatred."

He raised his head up again and looked into Velvet's eyes.

"I guess I fell for the same trap the White Fang did," he remarked. "I had only seen the dark side of the Faunus, and I let that convince me there was no light side. The White Fang probably felt the same about me, about humanity."

Velvet felt tears come to her eyes, and she tried to wipe them away before Cardin saw. The whole situation was very overwhelming. But she didn't want Cardin to see her falter.

"Look, I don't expect you to forgive me," Cardin said, his voice heavy. "I sure as hell wouldn't. But you wanted to know, and I wanted you to know. Regardless if it means anything, I am sorry, Velvet."

Velvet didn't know what to say. A part of her wanted to believe Cardin, to believe  _in_  him. Another part screamed that it was all a ruse, and Cardin was trying to set her up for further embarrassment. She didn't know what to believe.

Cardin reached into his pocket.

"You dropped this out there. It looked ok to me, but I don't know much about how it works," Cardin said, his voice melancholic.

Velvet watched as Cardin pulled her camera out of his large pocket. Velvet a flicker of relief light within her at seeing it in one piece. She had assumed that the thugs had stolen or destroyed it. Whispering a silent thanks to Oum, Velvet took the camera from Cardin's hand and examined it closely.

The corner was slightly dented from when it had fallen, but otherwise the camera was in good condition. The lens was not cracked, and Velvet turned it on and tested its features. Everything was in working order.

Velvet sighed in relief. At least something was ok. Looking back to Cardin, Velvet once again considered what he had said. Finally, Velvet spoke.

"I want to believe you, Cardin. I would like to think that maybe there is still hope for you, but that is difficult to believe based on your past actions. But I am not like the White Fang, I believe in giving people a second chance. So, if you want my forgiveness, you are going to have to prove to me that you are worthy of that second chance."

Cardin instantly perked up, completely renewed with vigor and purpose. A small smile rose to his face, and Velvet thought that kind of smile suited him much better than any smirk he had even worn.

Calming down enough to look her in the eyes again, Cardin nodded with determination.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Velvet nodded back, a smile rising to her face as well. She stood up from the bed, her camera still firmly held in her hands, and walked over to the door to Cardin's room.

Cardin watched her as she reached for the doorknob and opened the door slowly. He suddenly felt very awkward.

"Soooooo uh," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Velvet turned to look at him. She nodded her head, then she left, closing the door behind her.

Cardin sat for a moment, alone in his room now. Then he felt a welling sense of pride from his toes to his head. It was better than when he had set the record today in the simulator, hundreds of times better. He stood up, and instantly realized something was different. Looking down, Cardin realized that he had grown larger than he ever had before. It was as if his semblance had kicked into overdrive. Cardin guessed he now stood at seven feet and two inches. Taller than he had ever been before. He could hardly contain his excitement as examined his now enormous body. He continued to marvel at himself until the initial pride wore off, and he slowly shrunk back down. A lingering sense of pride burned in Cardin's chest, and Cardin stood about two inches taller now than he normally did.

Changing into his night clothes, Cardin could not help himself from smiling. He had been given a chance. A chance for redemption, a chance to relieve himself of the massive weight he hadn't known he'd been carrying. Cardin knew that he had started himself on the right path tonight. He had never been so sure of anything before.

Cardin laid down on his bed, feeling peaceful. He smiled and closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here you go! Please enjoy! I own nothing.

The next few weeks flew by as Cardin worked to prove his worth to Velvet. As routine, Cardin began each morning with his jog to the park and back, followed with training, which Velvet observed with interest. After training, Cardin would each lunch with Velvet, sometimes they ate in relative silence, other times a conversation would just naturally happen. Either way, Cardin was glad for the company. He hadn't realized how lonely he had been, and Velvet offered much better conversation than his teammates ever had. While the rest of team CRDL had just agreed with whatever Cardin said, Velvet offered new, and sometimes conflicting, points of view to the discussion, and Cardin found himself grateful for that even if they didn't agree on everything.

After lunch, Cardin usually spent his time in one of the local gyms in Vale. Strength was integral to his fighting style, and Cardin enjoyed working out as much as he did. It made him feel strong, and more in control of his life. Throughout the first week, Cardin discovered that he had actually made a considerable gain in the amount of weight he was capable of lifting. He had no doubt it was due to his size difference. Generally speaking, Cardin had always stood at six feet and three inches, but now that he was trying to be a better person, he stood about six feet and five inches. His difference in size had yielded incredible results in the weight room, and Cardin found himself laughing as he lifted more weight than ever before. He received a few warnings from the gym staff as a result. Apparently, his laughter had made a few other patrons on edge. Some were downright scared of the 'max-rep madman', as they called him.

After his workouts, Cardin usually spent time studying manuals about the different types of Grimm found in the wild. If another attack was imminent, he wanted to be ready. Some days, however, Cardin picked out a book to read for fun. Most of the libraries of Vale had survived the attack, and there was quite a selection to choose from. If the day was nice, Cardin often found himself reading at an outdoor café or on a park bench. After that, Cardin met Velvet again for dinner, and they shared light conversation about how their day was, or what the weather was like. Velvet avoided deeper topics for now, and Cardin understood why. She still was on her guard about him, and she feared any personal information she gave out could possibly be used against her if Cardin was lying about his attempts to be a better person.

At first, that irritated Cardin. Why couldn't she see that he was trying to be better? But Cardin quickly realized that he had caused quite a bit of emotional damage to Velvet, and the healing process might take weeks or even months. Cardin shuddered at the thought, but he was determined to show her that he was a changed man. He wouldn't give up.

After the first few weeks, Velvet seemed to open up to Cardin a little bit more. Sometimes she joined him for his morning jog, even though she could run circles around him. Cardin tried to keep up at first, but he soon found that Velvet's jogging pace was just about his sprint, and he quickly gassed himself as he tried to catch the long-eared girl.

Doubling over with his hands on his knees, Cardin gasped as sweat rolled down his face. Glancing up, he saw Velvet giggle as she turned around and jogged back to him. She seemed barely out of breath as she slowed to a stop in front of him.

'How in Oum's name is that possible?' Cardin asked himself. 'Is she cheating and using aura on her legs?'

Cardin checked her legs for any sign of a glow, but he saw nothing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but her legs did appear to be quite long. They were very well toned too…

Cardin internally slapped himself and straightened up. Velvet flashed him a prideful grin, it was borderline arrogant actually.

"How the hell are you so much faster than me? Shouldn't those ears be adding wind resistance or something?"

Velvet laughed, and wiggled her ears at Cardin.

"I can bring them down you know. Besides, I have much less weight to lug around than you do."

She waved a hand over Cardin's bulky form for emphasis.

"Maybe if you lose a bit of confidence in yourself, you'll shrink down," Velvet teased. "Then you'll be lighter and less air resistant."

"Oh, ha ha very funny," Cardin said, rolling his eyes. "Let's just get going."

In addition to joining Cardin during his morning jogs, Velvet also became more interactive during Cardin's training time. In addition to observing Cardin's form and fighting style, she also discussed tactics with him between bouts. Sometimes, Velvet would even take turns with Cardin in the simulator. Though her light-copies only lasted so long, Cardin found that she was capable of defending herself with a multitude of kicking-style martial arts. Her kicks were not a strong substitute for the destructive power of a weapon due to her small stature, but Cardin guessed that if they were in a more realistic situation, her speed would be perfect for supporting the team or escaping if she needed to.

In addition to both of them gaining valuable simulator time, Cardin found Velvet to be an excellent sparring partner. Her insight into his weaponry and fighting style made it ideal for him to bounce ideas off her and vice versa.

Cardin guessed that Velvet's sudden openness meant that he was well on his way to forgiveness, and his hypothesis was proven correct. Velvet had also opened up to him at the lunch table, meaning that she had grown more comfortable with discussing topics previously off limits in their conversations. Over time, Cardin learned more about each of Velvet's teammates, where they were from, what they were like, that sort of thing. Cardin understood when she confided that she worried about them sometimes. She had been unable to communicate with them since they either lived in small villages or were from another kingdom. Cardin had similar experiences trying to contact his team as well. Russel and Lark were from Mantle, and the fall of the CCT made cross-kingdom communication impossible. Dove at least was on the same continent, but scroll signal had worsened considerably with the fall of the tower, and Cardin was left in the dark about how his teammates were doing.

They also talked about why they both chose to remain in Vale instead of leaving the city. Velvet had stayed because she wanted to assist the reconstruction of the city, and she had been coordinating with Professor Goodwitch on replacing some of the destroyed buildings. The poor woman was working herself to exhaustion attempting to retake Beacon, and Velvet was worried about her well-being. Cardin understood her worries. Professor Goodwitch was a tough cookie, but everyone had their limits. She was the one in charge now that Ozpin was gone, and Cardin figured she could only handle so much before she wore herself out. Goodwitch had been already stressed before Beacon fell, and Cardin couldn't imagine the tremendous weight she must have been carrying.

Velvet's growing involvement with Cardin's day to day activities continued even after lunch period, especially during Cardin's usual library visits. It became almost natural for Velvet to recommend a few books for Cardin to read. She read quite a bit more than he had, and she was all too eager to catch him back up to speed.

On one particular occasion, Cardin looked up from his book on aura control to see Velvet approaching the table with a stack of five or six books. Cardin shook his head and chuckled as she set them down before him.

"There's no way I can keep up with how many books you are giving me."

"Don't worry," Velvet replied with a smile. "These are light reads, you'll be done with them in no time."

Cardin pulled the stack closer and examined the titles, reading them off aloud.

"The Thief and the Butcher…Cramped Soul…Third Crusade…hey, what's this one?" Cardin asked, holding up a black book with bright read lettering on it.

"Ninjas of Love," Cardin read aloud. "What's this one abou…?"

Velvet snatched the book from his hand faster than his eyes could follow.

"Ohmygosh I'm sorry!" Velvet said, flustered as she quickly stuffed the book in her bad. "That got put into the pile by mistake!"

Cardin was even more curious about the book now, but he decided to drop it. Velvet was already turning as red as a tomato, and he didn't really want to embarrass her further. Over the weeks, a lot of his old tendencies had disappeared, and Cardin only felt better because of it. Velvet was opening up to him and his nightmares had disappeared entirely. Smiling, Cardin stood up from his seat.

"Whatever you say, Velvet. Let's get going, we don't want to miss dinner, it's spaghetti night you know."

Over the last few weeks, Cardin had learned that spaghetti was one of Velvet's favorite foods. It wasn't his favorite, but it was high on the list, so they both made a point of getting to dinner early on the nights when spaghetti was served. The earlier they were, the fresher the spaghetti was, and that made it all that more delicious.

"Right!" Velvet declared. She was happy that Cardin hadn't pushed the subject of her book, and she followed him as he checked out his books and left the library.

On the way back to the compound, they struck up a light conversation. Velvet was trying to explain to Cardin what it was like having two sets of ears, but Cardin was having difficulty wrapping his head around it.

"So, can you only hear through one pair at a time? Do you switch between them?"

"No, Cardin" Velvet giggled. "They both work all the time, I hear through both pairs simultaneously."

"But how does that work? How do you know which pair to listen to?"

"I listen to both," Velvet thought for a moment, then tried a new tactic. "It's like how you listen through two ears at the same time if you are a human. There's no trick to it, it just happens. Except instead of two, I have four."

Cardin was finally starting to get it. "Soooooo, you hear twice as well then?"

Velvet smirked. "Probably close to thrice as well."

"Damn," Cardin said, shaking his head as he continued walking next to her. "I spent so much time making fun of you that I never realized just how amazing and unique you really were."

Velvet blushed for the second time that day. Cardin had just paid her a compliment, and she was quite unused to receiving those, especially from the orange-haired boy. It was a new experience, and she found that she was enjoying it already.

Velvet turned as the compound came into view. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then her eyes widened as the two of them saw a figure standing at the front entrance.

"Professor Goodwitch?" Velvet said aloud. Cardin and Velvet shared a brief glance before hurrying over to her the woman stood.

"Ms. Scarlatina," Goodwitch said, nodding her head to Velvet in greeting.

"And…Mr. Winchester," she said with a tone of surprise. "I must say I am surprised to see you two in company."

Cardin lowered his eyes and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Ah…yeah professor," he said, not meeting Goodwitch's piercing eyes. "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf."

"I'm glad to hear that," Goodwitch replied her face betraying no emotion. She turned back to Velvet.

"Ms. Scarlatina, I have an assignment for you. That is of course, if you are interested."

Velvet's ears perked up immediately. "Yes! Of course, professor."

"Excellent. As for you Mr. Winchester," Goodwitch turned back to Cardin, who stiffened under her gaze. "This matter may concern you as well. You are welcome to join us if you'd like."

Cardin glanced sidelong at Velvet, who nodded back encouragingly.

"Uh, yeah. Sure!" Cardin said, feeling both excited and confused.

"Very well," Goodwitch replied. "If you would please." She gestured to an airship parked not far away.

'Was that there the whole time?' Cardin asked himself. He shrugged as the trio walked over to the craft.

The three of them quickly climbed aboard and settled in for takeoff. Soon the airship was soaring above the city towards their destination.

Cardin had flown before, but the view that being in an airship offered never ceased to take his breath away. On top of that, I felt like he was flying, and he loved that feeling.

Before long, the airship touched back down on solid ground. Cardin couldn't help but notice that they had landed on the air-pad on top of the Vale Capital Building. Cardin's mind filled with questions as the three of them stepped down onto the concrete.

'What exactly is going on here?' he thought to himself.

He felt tempted to inquire to Goodwitch about the nature of their visit, but he figured all of his questions would probably be answered soon, so he kept silent for now.

Professor Goodwitch led them to a door at the edge of the roof, and gestured the two of them through before following behind. Velvet led the way down a flight of stairs, and Cardin was pretty sure she knew exactly where they were going.

'I mean, after all, this is what she does on a regular basis, right?' Cardin thought.

As the stairs continued downward, Cardin smiled as a joke popped into his mind. He leaned forward to Velvet.

"Hey, I'm not going to court, am I?" Cardin whispered so that Goodwitch could not hear.

"Of course not, Mr. Winchester," came Goodwitch's voice from behind him. Cardin nearly jumped out of his own skin. He made a mental note to mind Goodwitch's hearing from then on out.

After reaching the bottom of the stairs, the three of them stepped into a long hallway with multiple furnishings. Paintings adorned the walls, ornate chandeliers cast light every which way in a dazzling spectrum, and placed on the floor was a large red rug that stretched the length of the hallway. Cardin could have spent a few hours admiring the décor, but Velvet strolled past the furnishings and artwork, determined to reach their destination. Cardin quickly followed behind, as he was still acutely aware of Goodwitch right behind him. All around him people in suits and buisiness dresses bustled about, no doubt busy with the numerous affairs of Vale. Cardin nodded to a few as they passed, but he kept walking. A few turns and hallways later, Velvet led the group to a large set of double doors. To put more accurately, the doors were enormous. They stood fifteen feet tall and were each at least five feet wide.

Cardin's eyes boggled at the size of the gargantuan doors, and Goodwitch stepped past him to the doors themselves.

Without hesitation, Goodwitch knocked on the door with a series of hard taps and pauses. It seemed that there was a secret knock required to open the door.

Cardin inwardly smirked. It almost felt like some of those spy movies that he used to watch as a kid.

There were a few moments of silence after Goodwitch finished the knock, then the doors opened wide. She gestured for Velvet and Cardin to follow her, and Cardin wordlessly obliged.

He stepped through the doors into what appeared to be a large conference room. There was a long rectangular table placed in the center in the room, with at least ten chairs evenly placed around it. Cardin noticed that each of the chairs was occupied, spare one. He looked at each of the other occupants of the chairs, and he vaguely recognized some of the faces as members of Vale's High Council.

Cardin started as it suddenly clicked in his head. He was currently in a meeting of the Vale High Council, and he was completely underdressed. He quickly realized that the council had halted whatever discussion they were in the middle of, and had now trained their eyes on him and Velvet.

Cardin stiffened. He was now the center of attention of all of Vale's most prestigious citizens.

'Say something, you idiot,' he thought to himself.

"Uhhhh, hi there," Cardin said with a half-hearted wave.

The council looked at him for a moment, then Goodwitch spoke up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please pardon the interruption, but I have brought in some candidates for our mission."

The council instantly perked up at Goodwitch's words.

"I have brought Miss Scarlatina, whom many of you already know."

Cardin saw a few council members nod at Velvet, they seemed familiar and comfortable with her.

"And this is Mr. Cardin Winchester, a former student at Beacon like Miss Scarlatina."

The council directed their attention to Cardin, and Cardin instantly felt an air of distrust in the room.

"Glynda," one of the members spoke up. "You understand that this mission if of the utmost importance, are you certain that your candidates are ready for such an undertaking?"

There were murmurs of agreement among the council, and Cardin began to shrink under their scrutiny. Unfortunately for Cardin, the shrinking was just as much physical as it was metaphorical.

"While it is true that Mr. Winchester lacks some of the experience of an older huntsman," Goodwitch replied unwaveringly. "He took part in multiple successful missions during his time at Beacon, some of which were considered to be far above the level of his class. And since then, I do believe he has continued to hone his skills even further." Goodwitch then looked over to Cardin, as did the rest of the council.

"You've been spending quite a bit of time at the training facility, have you not, Mr. Winchester?" Goodwitch asked him.

Cardin stiffened again.

'How did she know that?' he asked inwardly. Goodwitch always seemed to know more than she let on, and apparently this was no exception.

"Yes, professor. That is correct," he replied.

Goodwitch nodded, then turned to address the council again.

"Ms. Scarlatina has been training as well, sometimes with Mr. Winchester, even. I believe they are comfortable working together."

Cardin began to feel a bit creeped out by exactly how much Goodwitch knew, and he glanced over at Velvet, one eyebrow cocked questioningly. Velvet looked back at him and shrugged, seemingly as in the dark as Cardin was about the whole thing.

The council member who spoke up looked as though he wanted to say more, but he was cut off by the member at the head of the table. He seemed to be the chief council member, and everyone else seemed to defer to him.

"Glynda," he said, his tone calm and practiced. "We trust your judgement, but no matter how well-prepared these two are, I'm afraid this mission is too high of a priority to send just two huntsmen. Surely you understand as well."

"I do indeed," Goodwitch replied. "I have sent some of my staff to fetch the other two I have chosen, they are due to arrive at any minute."

As if on cue, the secret knock came through the wood of the giant double doors. The doors opened as if by magic, and two more figures stepped into the room.

They both appeared to be about Cardin and Velvet's age.

Cardin didn't recognize the first one, who was a female. She had a darker complexion, and she stood out due to the bright yellow robe she was wearing. Interestingly enough, Cardin noticed that the robe only had one sleeve, which covered her right arm, while her left remained bare. She seemed to have a silent, yet strong demeanor around her, and she nodded to both Cardin and Velvet before taking in the council members before her.

The other figure was male, and Cardin vaguely recognized him. He had seen him sometimes hanging out with teams RWBY and JNPR before Beacon fell, but he was always with his monkey-faunus friend. Cardin remembered him because he had always been easily recognizable by his bright blue hair and yellow goggles. The male looked at Cardin for a moment and frowned, as though he recognized Cardin too, but then his eyes scanned the rest of the room, then they widened considerably.

"Whoa…" the male said as the council examined him and the girl. He seemed uncomfortable under their gaze, and he leaned over to Cardin.

"Uhhhh, do I have something on my face?" he whispered.

Without waiting for a response, he quickly wiped his face off with his hand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Goodwitch continued, allow me to introduce the other two candidates for the mission: Mr. Neptune Vasailias, and Ms. Arslan Altan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Booyah! There we go. This is an updated version of the original, so I am pleased to tell you that the story does not end here! I've already got some drafts written up, so hopefully you can expect some more soon! Don't forget to drop a comment letting me know how much you love/hate the story so far. I'd love to hear from you guys!


	6. Chapter 6

Introductions were quickly made between everyone, and Cardin was inwardly relieved that Neptune had only known about Cardin from seeing his face, and not through hearing about the egregious behavior that Cardin had up until a few months ago. Neptune himself was fairly easy to get along with. He seemed respectful and honest enough, but Cardin detected a twinge of self-consciousness that seemed to be just beneath the surface.

Arslan was also polite and respectful, but she did not have much to say during her introductions, which did not seem to stem from a lack of confidence, but rather the opposite. She seemed to be perfectly content with letting others talk while she listened and observed, while speaking whenever she felt the need to. Unlike Neptune, who seemed to shy away from revealing his semblance, Arslan seemed content with letting them know what her's was.

She could emit blasts of kinetic energy from her body. Small explosions that acted as a sort of pulse. Combined with her hand to hand combat style, it worked extremely well. Cardin had no doubt about that. That was like having grenades for hands, which was one of the most badass things Cardin could imagine. He wanted to inquire further, but the council seemed to be restless, so he decided to wait until later.

"Well," the head councilman said after introductions had been made. "I suppose you are all curious as to the nature of your mission."

"Just a little bit," Neptune said. Cardin guessed it was meant to be a joke, but the council members all stared back with blank emotion painted on their faces. Neptune deflated slightly and lapsed into silence.

"Your mission," the councilman continued, "is a search and rescue operation."

Cardin remained silent as he took in this information.

"The individual you are to rescue is one of our own council members, who you may have noticed is absent from our meeting," the councilman said, gesturing toward the empty chair.

Cardin spared a glance to the empty seat at the table, then looked back to the councilman as he continued.

"The man in question is named Arthur Hidoma, our head of security for the city."

The council all bowed their head solemly, and Cardin guessed that this councilman was well liked among his peers.

"Have there been any ransom letters? Any possible motives?" asked Velvet from Cardin's left.

"No contact has been made by the kidnappers in question, but we do know their identities," the councilman answered. "Please consult your scrolls as we continue."

At first, Cardin was confused, but as he took out his scroll, he realized that he had just received a new message. Cardin opened the message and instantly was greeted by a myriad of information, as well as a picture of the councilman who had been taken. Cardin examined the picture, and saw that the man himself looked to be in his late 50s or early 60s. He seemed competent enough in his picture, with an air of understanding and knowledge. Cardin committed the man's picture to memory, then looked up as the councilman continued.

"The kidnappers themselves are a group of bandits that reside in the emerald forest not far from the city. They have been raiding villages and settlements for as long as we can remember, but we have been unable to apprehend or at least stop them, especially since the fall of Beacon. And now, more than ever, we are powerless against them. Without Arthur here, our forces have begun to fall into disarray. We believe that they are trying to disorganize our forces by stealing our head of security. As a result, we will be unable to project power to the outer settlements, which will no doubt make things much easier for them. Without our protection, some of those outer settlements are all but helpless."

Cardin felt the gravity of the situation weigh down on him, and he continued listening to the councilman.

"Despite numerous setbacks, we have located their camp," the councilman continued. "Our sources indicate that their camp is actually located in a cave built into the side of a massive hill, so they all live underground."

Cardin spoke up for the first time. "Any word on the size of their forces?"

"Due to their base being underground, we have been unable to determine how large it is, or how many reside there. It could be anywhere from just one hundred bodies to thousands of them. That is also one of the reasons that we cannot mount an assault on the base right out. We have no idea as to the extent of their forces."

Cardin nodded and turned back to his scroll, he selected a picture from the data files he had received, and found himself looking at a symbol. It was a crude drawing of a spear crossed with an axe. No doubt the emblem of the bandit tribe they were going after. Cardin committed that to memory as well before looking back to the councilman.

"Your mission will be to infiltrate the base, find Arthur, and bring him home safe. As soon as you have him in your position, use one of your scrolls to call us. We will pick you up from wherever you are," the councilman said before standing up.

"Any questions?"

Nobody appeared to have any questions at all. And a moment of silence passed before it was broken by Neptune.

"Sooooo, when do we leave?"

...

Cardin looked up through the canopy of the emerald forest above him. The late afternoon sun shone through the leaves and branches above, casting numerous rays on the forest floor below. It was a beautiful scene, and he was glad to be there to witness it.

The airship had dropped them off a few hours ago. They had been dropped far away from their destination due to the covert nature of their operation, and they would have to walk the rest of the way.

Cardin adjusted the weight of the pack on his shoulders. He was the biggest of the group, so it was only fitting that he be the one to carry the pack of supplies they needed. Neptune had offered to carry it for a while, and Cardin had refused. He was accustomed to carrying weight due to his armor and weapon, so a few extra few pounds were negligible to him. Plus, he had good company, as Velvet walked at the front of the group next to him. Arslan and Neptune walked close behind.

Neptune was just finishing his somewhat exaggerated tales of fighting Roman Torchwick with Team RWBY.

"And that's how I almost single-handedly defeated an Atlesian Paladin." Neptune finished his tale with a smile.

Arslan rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

"I know, you've only told me at least three times now."

"I know, right?" Neptune replied enthusiastically. "No matter how many times I tell it, I still get chills."

Arslan's response was to groan loudly and slump her shoulders.

Velvet stifled a laugh from her position next to Cardin at the front of the group.

Cardin smirked and spoke loudly so Neptune and Arslan could hear.

"How much further until we reach the checkpoint?"

Velvet laughed again and turned her head over her shoulder so the others could hear.

"We still have a little way left to go before we are close," Velvet said after taking a moment.

"Probably a few more hours. It might be dark by then."

Arslan's face fell just as Neptune's perked up.

"That's perfect! Now I've got time to tell you how Sun and I smoked team NDGO in the Vytal festival tournament."

Velvet spoke up before Arslan could hurl Neptune into the nearest tree.

"As I recall, Neptune, I remember a certain someone that was afraid to get a little wet during that match."

Neptune immediately stiffened.

"Uh...uh...no! I was just taking a tactical retreat. Everyone knows you can lose your footing in water, slip in, ruin your hair, possibly die…

He trailed off. The wind seemed to be gone from his sails, and he lapsed into silence,

and Arslan looked at Velvet and nodded as a sign of gratitude.

'Thank you!' She mouthed silently. She looked as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Velvet nodded back and turned to face the front again, seemingly content with her work.

Cardin raised an eyebrow before leaning in to whisper down to her.

"Scared of water? Doesn't really fit the theme of blue hair and a trident, does it?"

Velvet laughed silently, before nodding at Cardin.

"Apparently, he won't even go out in the rain. He gets nervous even if it's in the forecast. Sun says it's a huge problem."

Cardin's eyes widened in surprise. He never would have guessed it was that bad. How could someone even get into a huntsman academy with a phobia like that?

"Well, let's hope we won't have to deal with it on this mission."

Velvet nodded her agreement before abruptly freezing in place. Her ears perked up and began to twitch, a sure sign that she had picked up noise nearby. Cardin and the others halted as well, instantly on the alert and scanning through the nearby trees. Cardin strained his ears, and he just barely picked up muffled voices ahead.

Silently, he raised his finger and pointed ahead through the wilderness. Velvet acknowledged him with a nod, and silently the group began moving forward through the foliage. Everyone crouching low and taking great care not to make any noise.

For Cardin, this should have been the most difficult due to his bulky armor. But thankfully, this wasn't his first time being stealthy. That may have been a shock to some, but team CRDL had gone through their fair share of covert missions during their time at beacon, and Cardin had picked up a few tricks.

The four of them subconsciously slipped into a single file column, With Velvet at the front, Cardin falling in behind her, Arslan behind him, and Neptune bringing up the rear. In their new formation, they moved quickly but quietly toward the sounds of voices.

As they continued to move, Cardin heard the voices become louder, and quite a bit more distinctive. From what Cardin could tell, it was two men, and they seemed to be very relaxed in their conversation.

Finally, Cardin caught sight of a clearing up ahead. As the team approached the tree line, Velvet made a motion for everyone to fan out.

The team all acknowledged her silently, then they spread out so their column morphed into a row, with Velvet and Cardin in the center, and Neptune and Arslan on the ends.

They each took cover behind a tree, and Cardin slowly peeked out from behind his to catch a glimpse of the source of the voices.

The clearing was not very large at all. Cardin supposed it couldn't be called tiny, as he was sure a drop ship could land there with relative ease. But even if it did, there wasn't much room for error.

Before him the clearing stretched out, with nothing but grass occupying the ground. There was a slight breeze, and the trees and foliage began to sway gently in a harmonic rhythm of serenity. The bright afternoon sun caught the fluttering leaves, making the light dance across the tree line as a result.

Had Cardin more time, he could have admired the scene for hours, but his attention was quickly diverted to the two figures conversing on the far side of the clearing.

Cardin immediately recognized the emblem on their sleeves. It was the exact same emblem he had seen in the council room back in Vale. There was no doubt in his mind.

Cardin turned his head toward Velvet, who turned to meet his eyes as well. Wordlessly, he tapped his shoulder and mouthed: 'It's them.'

Velvet nodded back, and they both turned their attention back to the two bandits in the clearing.

They were both human as far as Cardin could see. Both medium height with shaggy and unkempt hair. Their faces looked greasy and unwashed to match. Both were dressed in what looked like several scraps from multiple different fabrics sewn together, as though they could never find an article of clothing still in one piece.

Those observations alone showed Cardin that they were bad news, but the icing on the cake was the fact that they both carried fully-automatic dust rifles. Needless to say, they radiated ill intent.

Cardin listened hard as their conversation floated towards him.

"I'm telling you, Cleo. You give it a few more days, and the city will have exhausted their resources looking for this guy. Then we'll be feasting like kings."

"Whatever," the second one said with a shrug. He must have been Cleo. "All I'm cravin' is some asshole's head under my boot. It's been too long since I've had a chance to let loose."

"You're a sick man, you know that?" The first one replied. "I mean, like, really messed up."

"Oh, get off your high horse. You know you want it just as much as I do."

Cardin scrunched his face up in disgust and anger as he listened from behind the tree. These people were scum, and Cardin would have loved nothing more to pound them into the dirt right now. But he stopped himself.

The only thing holding him back was the fact that they were both armed with dust rifles, which usually was nothing to be concerned about, combatively speaking. For an experienced huntsman, fighting against someone with a dust rifle was almost easier done than said. Any aura user could block the dust rounds with even a few days of practice. In fact, it had been one of the first things Cardin had learned to do with his mace. It'd be like bringing a twig to a sword fight.

No, Cardin was wary of those rifles because of the noise. If a dust rifle was anything, it was loud, and the last thing the team needed was for more bandits to materialize from the woods. If their cover was blown, retrieving the council member would only become more difficult.

So, Cardin stayed where he was, his knuckles white as he held his mace in a death grip. His teeth clenched as he heard more and more about the lecherous acts these two bandits planned on partaking in.

Velvet seemed to pick up on his anger, and she quickly caught his eye and made a calming gesture with her hands.

Cardin wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt much better as Velvet stared intently at him from behind her tree. Somehow, remembering that she was there with him instantly soothed his near-boiling rage.

Finally calmed down enough, Cardin took a death breath and nodded a silent thanks to Velvet from behind his own tree.

She smiled and nodded back, and Cardin made a mental note to try and make her smile more. It was beautiful. The way the sun caught her face...

Cardin was jolted from his thoughts as he heard the bandits seem to reach an end to their vulgar discussion.

"Anyway, let's get out of here. We've been on patrol for long enough."

"Damn right, I need a drink," Cleo replied. And he started walking.

Directly toward Cardin's position.

Cardin's mind was instantly firing on all cylinders. Questions began to formulate in his mind.

'Can we take them out quickly so they don't make any noise? Are there any more through the trees? How far away do they walk from each other?'

"Hey dumbass, camp is that way," the first bandit said as he threw his thumb over his shoulder.

The one called Cleo abruptly stopped a few feet from Cardin's tree and turned around.

"I know that," he said with a haughty sneer. "I'm just scouting the area. I could find my way back to camp blindfolded."

"Uh-huh, sure. Try not to break your arm pulling your own horn, pal."

"Its tooting your own horn, idiot," Cleo retorted as he started back across the clearing.

"I'm not talking about a car horn, Cleo," the first one said as Cleo caught up with him. They started off into the woods together.

"Then what in Oum's name are you... oh wait. Yeah yeah, very funny, you're such an assho..."

Their voices began to fade as they disappeared further into the forest.

After a minute or so, silence reclaimed the clearing.

Velvet waited just a few moments more, then she motioned for Cardin and the others to gather around.

Cardin slowly made his way over to where she sat under the giant tree. Shortly after, Neptune and Arslan arrived. They all squatted down, and Velvet lowered her voice to a whisper.

"We must be closer than I thought, I'm certain these guys would never patrol this far from their camp."

"I agree," Arlsan whispered. "They weren't prepared for a long patrol. They weren't carrying any travel packs. Which means they're close to home."

"Alright," Velvet said. "We must be close then. Let's backtrack a way, and set up camp. I'll go ahead and scout out their base."

Cardin instantly objected. "There is no way that you are scouting that base alone. There's way too much at risk if you got caught."

"Cardin..."

"No," Cardin said, a bit more forcefully than he had wanted to. "Not happening."

"Cardin." Surprisingly it was Neptune who spoke. "You have to see thing practically, man. Velvet has night vision, and it will be dark soon. And not only can she see and hear way better than we can, but she is arguably the fastest out of all of us. My point being that she can get away unhindered by someone else who is slower. I don't like this idea at all either, but we have got to collect information before we can infiltrate this place, and I think Velvet is our best bet."

Cardin looked over at Neptune, and he again was surprised to see that Neptune was looking at him with a steady gaze. He was right, of course. The sun was already setting, and velvet would be the best suited to handle the nighttime movement.

He then looked over to Arslan, who nodded her head slightly to confirm that she felt the same.

Finally, he turned and looked over at Velvet, who smiled and gently put her hand on his armored shoulder.

"I'll be careful, Cardin," she said reassuringly. "I promise."

Cardin looked at her for a long moment. Then he broke his gaze and shook his head.

"Alright," he said, defeated. "Ok."

"I promise Cardin," Velvet said. I'll be back before sunrise. She left her hand on his shoulder for a moment longer, then she stood up and said goodbye to everyone. Then she turned on her heel and left the group, headed back in the direction the bandits had taken.

Cardin watched her leave, and he continued to watch her until he could no longer see her chocolate colored ears through the foliage. Then he turned his attention back to Arslan and Neptune, who were both looking back at him intently.

"She will be fine, Cardin", Arslan said. "She's tough remember?"

"Yeah," Cardin said. His mind was slowly returning to the present. "She is."

With that, the three of them set up camp. Cardin slung the pack off of his shoulders and they each pulled out their sleeping bags and a few packages of food. Due to their proximity to the bandits' camp. The luxury of a fire was suspended. So, they ate their dinner cold, which Cardin didn't mind at all. It certainly wasn't the cafeteria food at Beacon, but Cardin never had an issue with eating cold food before, and he certainly didn't now.

Neptune, on the other hand, was certainly not used to eating cold and packaged food. Cardin and Arslan were soon informed of that information multiple times.

"Dear Oum," Neptune said after forcibly swallowing a bite. "I feel like I'm eating someone else's upchuck.

Cardin chuckled. His sense of humor had returned.

"You know, Neptune, that assumption may have a bit more truth to it than you think," he said.

Neptune's face turned a slight twinge of green, and both Cardin and Arslan had a good laugh before Arslan chimed in.

"He's just kidding, Neptune...that assumption actually has A LOT more truth to it than you think.

Neptune frowned, but finally caught on to the fact that they were messing with him, and he grumbled as he ate the rest of his dinner.

By the time they had finished eating, the sun had completely dipped behind the horizon. The sky was darkening, and the black of night would soon follow.

Cardin called dibs on the first watch, and Arslan and Neptune offered no argument. They had probably guessed that he would want to take first watch. So, they said good night, and climbed into their respective sleeping bags.

Cardin sat on a nearby tree stump and scanned the forest around him. He was certain that Velvet would come out of those trees soon, and he grew more and more nervous as time dragged on.

Before he knew it, Arslan had roused herself and insisted that Cardin get some sleep.

At first, Cardin had refused. But he soon realized just how tired he was, and he begrudgingly climbed into his sleeping roll, armor and all.

Soon, his exhaustion caught up with him, and Cardin fell asleep.

For being out in the wilderness and sleeping in a roll, Cardin slept rather peacefully. He couldn't remember what he dreamt about, but he most certainly remembered waking up to a dust rifle trained firmly between his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Cardin froze for a moment, taking in only the dust rifle. He was slightly aware of the person holding the rifle, but Cardin didn't see that as a priority right now.

In the next moment, training took over. Cardin slapped the dust rifle to the side and bolted to his feet. He had planned on wresting the weapon from the person holding it, but he hadn't planned on someone hitting him hard on the back of the head with a hard and blunt object as soon as he stood up.

Cardin had already activated his aura, but the blow delivered to the back of his skull was enhanced with aura as well, and Cardin stumbled as his vision blurred from the hit.

Cardin shook his head to clear his senses, but then he suddenly felt an immense pain course through his body. It surged through him, into every corner of his being. His body felt like it was on fire. The pain was pulsing, overflowing, and unrelenting, and Cardin wasn't sure if he made any noise before he blacked out.

...

Cardin slowly realized that he was awake. And that his eyes were closed. The next thing Cardin was aware of was a deep throbbing behind his eyelids. It thundered deep within his skull, and Cardin grit his teeth as the pain refused to go away. Cardin activated his aura, and instantly the pain began to recede. Cardin breathed a sigh of relief as his aura began to repair the damage, and opened his eyes.

The world was blurred, and Cardin blinked a few times to adjust his eyes.

The scene came into focus, and Cardin looked around to find himself in what appeared to be a massive cavern. Cardin looked around, and saw that the cavern was, in fact, massive. In his mind, Cardin compared it to the arena they had used for the Vytal festival, but in actuality it was a lot smaller. Even so, the cavern spread wide, and the ceiling stretched high above.

Cardin realized that he was in the direct center of the cavern, in a sizeable pit dug into the earth. The pit itself had to be at least thirty feet in diameter. Ringed around him were what appeared to be bandits, all standing at the edge of the pit looking in. Their faces all portrayed eager expressions, as though something big was about to happen. The walls of the pit were high, Cardin guessed they were roughly four times his height, and he was roughly six feet four inches now. Cardin figured it would be relatively easy to jump out using his aura, he had made higher jumps before. But he had a feeling the bandits wouldn't let him do that, they had to have some leverage.

Cardin suddenly became acutely aware that there were others in the pit with him. He looked to his left and saw that both Neptune and Arslan were stirring next to him. He quickly assessed the both of them for damage, and immediately was filled with a sense of dread.

Neptune's arm was broken. To be more specific, it was his forearm. It was as though he had a second elbow halfway between his normal elbow and his wrist. The way he was laying, his arm looked slightly like a lightning bolt. Cardin immediately stood up and moved over to help him.

Neptune opened his eyes, then shut them and hissed in pain. Cardin knelt down next to him.

"Neptune, listen to me. I need to set your arm. You need to numb it with aura."

"Wher-where are we, Cardin?" Neptune asked through gritted teeth.

"Don't worry about that now, just numb your arm," Cardin said as he reached for one of his bracers.

With a few movements, Cardin removed his right bracer and set it down next to him. He then reached for Neptune's broken arm. He paused slightly.

"Is it numb?" He asked.

"Yeah," Neptune said. "Go for it."

Cardin nodded and quickly set the broken limb. Once the break was set, Cardin grabbed the bracer he had removed. Slowly, Cardin fastened the bracer onto Neptune's forearm, then he watched as the metal began to shrink and meld with Neptune's forearm.

Cardin smiled slightly as he watched. He was proud of his armor. Not only did the protentium mold a perfect fit for his body, or Neptune's in this case, but it would also keep Neptune's break in place while it healed. Cardin had learned the trick from some medics a long time ago. Protentium metal was ideal for setting broken limbs, as it's melding properties made it work like a makeshift cast out in the field. It was perfect for when supplies were limited. Not that protentium was readily available either.

"Ok," Cardin said. "I've set your arm. Don't take that armor off until it fully heals. It's what's keeping the bone in place."

Neptune nodded and forced himself into a sitting position.

"Thanks Cardin, now, where are we? This place smells like shit."

Cardin chuckled. It felt good to laugh despite the situation.

"I think we made it into the bandit camp. Their main base must be this whole system of caverns and tunnels".

"Greeeeeat," Neptune said, his voice dripping with sarcastic enthusiasm.

Cardin patted him on the leg, then he turned his attention to Arslan. She had just forced herself into a sitting position as well.

Cardin checked her over for any visible injuries, and she appeared to have none apart from some nasty bruises. But that didn't mean there weren't any internal injuries.

"Arslan, are you hurt anywhere?" Cardin asked with concern.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Arslan said, making eye contact with Cardin as she did so. "I'm definitely going to be stiff for the next few days though."

Cardin nodded and helped her to her feet. After standing, she noticed all of the bandits watching them.

"What the hell are they doing?" She asked. "Are they waiting for something?"

Cardin finished getting Neptune to his feet before turning and answering.

"I think they have something big planned for us, and whatever it is, I'm not too keen on being a part of it."

Neptune nodded. "Scrolls are gone. They took our weapons too. I don't like where this is going".

Cardin clenched his fists, he hoped Velvet was alright. She was the only member of the team that wasn't present, and Cardin hoped with all of his being that was a good sign. Hopefully, she was still out there. She could call Goodwitch bring in reinforcements.

A horn suddenly boomed throughout the cavern, and the bandits all turned their attention to something Cardin could not see from within the pit.

The bandits made room at one edge of the pit, and soon a massive beast of a man stepped to the edge. Cardin was certain that man was in charge, as the rest of the bandits seemed to regard him with great respect. Or fear. Cardin wasn't entirely sure which, but either way, he understood why. This guy reminded him of Velvet's old teammate, Yatsuhashi. The man seemed to only be a few inches shorter than Yatsuhashi, but he was just as wide, if not wider. He was shirtless, and muscles bulged out of every inch of his skin. It seemed to be a wonder that he could even move at all.

The large man stared down at the three of them in the pit for a moment, then a crooked smile came to his face, and Cardin grimaced as he saw there were a few teeth missing from his yellowed set.

"Yeesh," Neptune said, disgust painted across his features. "Someone get that guy a toothbrush."

Neither Cardin nor Arlsan said anything in response, but Cardin saw Arslan make a face similar to Neptune's at the sight of the bandit leader's smile.

The leader lifted his head toward the other bandits, and the crowd hushed.

"Friends!" His voice boomed throughout the cavern. "It would seem that the city of Vale is none too happy with us possessing one of their council members. So much so, that they have sent a small team of huntsmen to retrieve him."

The crowd booed and jeered at Cardin and the others in the pit. The leader motioned for silence, and the crowd quickly obliged.

"But, they made a big mistake in their plans." His voice was very loud and articulated. "What mistake is that you may ask? Their mistake, was underestimating our capabilities! We turned out to be far stronger and far smarter than they anticipated!"

The crowd roared with applause. Cardin was quickly getting tired of this gloatfest.

"Now," the leader continued. "I know that you all would love nothing more than to slay these huntsmen where they stand..."

The crowd roared with approval again. The leader waited until it died down.

"But I've decided to make things a little bit more interesting!"

The crowd suddenly lapsed into a confused silence.

"It's been a long time since we have had any real entertainment, so I'm going to let these huntsmen fight for their freedom!"

The crowd stayed silent. Still unsure of what to think. Murmurs ripples throughout their ranks.

"I, your fearless leader, Bruno, have decided to let these huntsmen fight for their freedom, and the freedom of their councilman! The rules will be simple.

The will fight our brave warriors one on one for each life they wish to set free. No weapons. No friends. Just semblances and hand to hand combat."

Cardin shared glances with Arlsan and Neptune. They had the option to fight their way out, and Cardin felt a spark of hope begin to form in his chest at the opportunity they had been given.

"I've even brought the prisoners out to watch!" The leader called Bruno said. He snapped his fingers, and next to him two restrained figures were thrown to their knees at the edge of the pit. One of them was the council member. Cardin recognized him from the picture they had been shown back at Vale. He seemed tired and afraid, but otherwise seemed to be alright. Cardin's eyes then drifted to the other prisoner, and when he recognized who it was, his blood ran cold.

It was Velvet.

And she looked like she had been hit by a train.

Her combat attire was dirty and torn in places, and there were cuts and bruises all up and down her arms.

Then Cardin saw her face.

Her face was bruised bad, with both of her cheeks swollen and purple. Her bottom lip was split, and her dark chocolate-colored hair was disheveled. It fell across her face in a mess. She looked up at him once, and Cardin saw recognition appear briefly on her face before Bruno grabbed her by her rabbit ears and threw her face down into the dirt. He laughed menacingly, and his grotesque teeth made him look revolting.

In that moment, Cardin wanted to kill Bruno. He had hurt one of Cardin's team. He had hurt her. And the price for that would be his life. Cardin felt a rage build within him. Slowly, it began to boil up. Cardin saw the red appear within his vision again. It had been a while since he had felt it, but it was there all the same. He welcomed it.

"Huntsmen!" Bruno called out. "You will first fight for your own lives, and then the lives of the prisoners. Who will fight first?"

Cardin immediately stepped forward. Red seeping even further into his vision. Arlsan and Neptune looked like they wanted to protest, but one look at Cardin, and they decided to let him be.

"Very well, huntsman! Meet your first opponent!"

Cardin watched with fury as a bandit jumped down into the pit. This bandit was dressed in scrappy clothing like his counterparts, but this one stood out due to a bright green Mohawk that stood tall and bright among the dirt and grime of the rest of him. His hands were wrapped tightly in gauze, as most fighters' hands were. And he eyed Cardin with a feral sort of hunger.

Cardin stared back with molten rage behind his eyes. The green-haired bandit seemed almost surprised at Cardin's ferocity, but then he regained his composure and smiled back at Cardin.

"Begin!"

The green-haired bandit began moving his feet and arms around like a boxer. Cardin barely noticed.

...

The movement was supposed to make you more unpredictable to your opponent, and the green-haired bandit knew that if he could keep this huntsman off his balance...

There was a sudden and very loud crunching noise as the bandit's nose easily gave way to Cardin's fist. The bandit registered shock as his head snapped backward with the blow. He had protected his face with aura, but apparently his aura had not been strong enough to stop Cardin's blow.

Then bandit snapped his head back forward. His nose was broken, and blood was flowing out freely. It hurt. A lot. But he ignored the pain tried to focus himself. That had been a lucky hit, but now the bandit was ready. So, next time he wouldn't be so luc-

The bandit's thought process ground to a halt as Cardin delivered a smashing uppercut to his chin. The force of the blow lifted him off of his feet, and he flew a foot or two off of the ground before landing in a crumpled heap on the dirt floor.

He did not get up.

...

Cardin could see enough through the red that the bandit was still alive. Cardin almost moved to keep fighting, but he begrudgingly pulled himself back as he realized that the bandit was unconscious. He wasn't going anywhere.

The cavern fell silent as everyone realized that Cardin had won his first match. In ten seconds. Cardin stared up at the leader. Murder still clear in his eyes.

Bruno had lost his smile, and he stared back at Cardin unflinchingly.

"Very well, huntsman," he said so that everyone could hear. "You have won your freedom. You may leave if you so choose."

Cardin remained rooted to the spot. He continued to stare at the leader. Bruno waited a moment, then called out again.

"Very well, who will fight next?"

Cardin finally broke his gaze to see Arslan step forward. She looked at him.

"Take a break, Cardin. I got this."

Cardin looked at her for a moment. Then nodded and went to take a place next to Neptune at the edge of the ring. The red slowly began to recede, but Cardin still felt a lingering ferocity in his stomach. As he approached, Neptune looked at him with concern.

Cardin turned and placed his back at the edge of the pit. Then, without looking over at Neptune, he said, "You can't fight without your arm. I'll fight for your freedom."

Neptune looked down at his arm, then back to Cardin, who already knew what he was going to say.

"Cardin, you don't..."

"Save it," Cardin interrupted. He took a deep breath to calm down a little more, then met Neptune's eyes.

"I'm not going to leave you here. None of you. Don't worry. We'll be just fine."

Neptune still looked hesitant, but then he sighed and shook his head.

"Anyone ever tell you how big of an idiot you are?"

Cardin smirked and looked over at Neptune. "Hmph, maybe I won't fight for you after all..."

Neptune smirked back. "Nah, you'd need your bracer back." He waved his broken arm form emphasis.

The two shared a laugh then turned their attention back to Arslan.

As they watched, the ground under Cardin's defeated opponent seemed to come alive. The ground rose up in a pillar-like fashion, then turned into a sort of slide that slid the bandit over the crowd and out of Cardin's sight. Neptune and Cardin both stared in amazement. Never before had the ground come alive like that. Arslan seemed just as surprised, but at that moment, her opponent jumped into the ring. It was another man, and he wore the same scrappy clothes as the others, but his defining feature was the headband he wore. He almost looked like one of those martial arts movies that Cardin watched as a kid.

The two eyed each other, then they each took up a fighting stance.

"Begin!"

The bandit immediately rushed toward Arslan, and the two began a furious exchange of blows.

They were both obviously skilled martial artists. But as Cardin watched, he quickly realized that while the bandit was attacking with reckless ferocity, Arlsan was fighting back with a calm and calculated demeanor. Cardin also realized that Arlsan was only using one arm. She was deflecting all of the bandit's attacks with her left arm while her sleeved right arm stayed firmly behind her back.

Arslan's opponent had realized this too, and Cardin watched as the bandit became more and more frustrated. Eventually, he took a single step back and filled up his fist with aura, similar to how Cardin had in the fight with the Beringel.

Arslan waited, and Cardin suddenly realized what her plan was.

The bandit yelled out as he delivered an aura infused punch at Arslan, who caught the bandit's wrist and twisted it outward. The joint locked, and the bandit was forced to twist as well to avoid breaking his arm. He was now bent at an awkward angle, and his fist still glowed with aura. In a blink, Arslan used her right hand and delivered a single punch to the bandit's abdomen. The force of the punch coupled with a burst of Arslan's semblance sent the bandit flying backward. He crashed back-first into the wall of the pit, arms splayed out. The crowd fell silent again as he remained against the wall for a few moments, enough to remind Cardin of a swatted fly that stuck to whatever surface it's been squashed on. Then the bandit fell forward and crashed onto the pit floor, unconscious and defeated.

Cardin stared at the unconscious fighter, and soon after the ground seemed to come alive again, lifting the bandit up into the air and sliding his unconscious form up and out of Cardin's sight. Cardin then looked at Arslan. Her expression was unreadable, and she remained where she was, with a slight frown on her face.

"Yeah! Alright!" came Neptune's voice from next to Cardin.

Every head in the cavern turned and looked at Neptune, who quickly noticed that every eye was on him.

"Sorry," he said, and he tried to make himself as small as possible against the wall of the pit.

"Very well, huntsman," Bruno's voice boomed again. Cardin sensed slight agitation in his voice as he turned to look in that direction. "You have won your freedom. You may leave if you so choose."

Arslan glared at him for a moment. Then turned and walked back over to where Cardin and Neptune stood.

"Very well," he said before turning his attention to Neptune. "Huntsman, step forward and face your opponent."

Cardin stepped out in front of Neptune. Wordlessly he stepped to the center of the pit. Wordlessly he turned and looked up at the leader again.

Bruno stared back. He asked, "Do you wish to fight in our friend's place?"

Cardin said nothing. He just glared daggers up at Bruno.

"Very well. You shall take his place."

Cardin dropped his gaze to his new opponent as he entered the arena.

At first glance, this opponent seemed no different from the rest, but as Cardin studied him, he realized that this man was actually quite older than he was. The man looked like he was in his late 30s or early 40s. He had long hair that touched his ears and long facial hair to match. To Cardin he looked like a wizard, but battle hardened, like a warrior who had seen combat numerous times before. As Cardin continued to study his opponent, the bandit extended his arm out to the side, his hand reaching out as though he was grabbing for something. He held it there, and Cardin watched with curiosity. After about 10 seconds, Cardin's eyes widened as a sword materialized in the bandit's hand.

The crowd began to cheer as the bandit held the blade in his hand.

"Kalin! Kalin! Kalin!"

Cardin figured that Kalin was the bandit's name, and the audience seemed to be quite fond of him or his sword. Or both. The bandit himself, however, seemed indifferent to the praise and recognition. In fact, he seemed almost…resentful of it?

The sword itself was long and wide, with the blade sharpened on one side and dull on the other. Cardin again found himself thinking of Yatsuhashi again, as he was the only other person Cardin had met who carried a sword that large. It should have weighed a ton, but the bandit handled it as though it was made of air. The sword glowed a deep purple, and it also seemed to be dripping an essence of the same color from the blade.

"Begin!"

The bandit called Kalin rushed for Cardin, wielding the sword in a two-handed style. Cardin instinctively dove to the left as the bandit slashed down onto the spot he had been standing on. Cardin quickly backed up to gain distance, but Kalin was already running towards him again. Cardin waited until Kalin drew close, and then ducked under Kalin's horizontal slash and tripped his feet out from underneath him.

Kalin fell down with a thud, dropping his sword in progress. Cardin immediately saw his chance, and he scrambled to catch the sword. He reached for the hilt, and his fingers closed around thin air. Cardin then realized that the sword had begun to dematerialize as soon as it left Kalin's hand. Cardin stared in disbelief at where the weapon had just been. Then he whirled around to see that Kalin was back on his feet, his hand extended out. Cardin barely had time to react before the sword materialized again in Kalin's hand. In the back of Cardin's mind, he processed that the sword had taken much less than ten seconds to appear a second time.

But Cardin had barely any time to dwell on it as Kalin swung at him again and again. Each time, Cardin just barely was able to get out of the way, until he was a split second too late, and Kalin landed a solid blow on his back. Cardin felt a large chunk of his aura disappear. No, almost half of his aura. The sword had nearly cut through it. It was almost as though it was made to cut aura. Cardin felt a rush of fear as he realized that this sword was much more powerful than it appeared. One more hit like that, and his aura was gone. And Cardin had a feeling that that sword would have carved through his armor like butter if his aura hadn't been activated. So, he quickly scrambled back to avoid Kalin's follow up strike.

Kalin smirked. He knew how solid that hit had been. As Cardin backed away, Kalin approached him slowly. The sword was held level with Cardin's chest.

"You fight well, Huntsman," Kalin said. His voice was surprisingly refined and proper for a bandit. "Your skills are desirable, but I'm afraid you are simply outmatched."

Kalin made to slash at Cardin again, but Cardin surprised both Kalin and himself by suddenly stepping in and grabbing both of Kalin's hands mid swing, which were both wrapped around the hilt of the blade. Kalin's eyes widened in surprise, and Cardin took advantage by twisting Kalin's arms to bring the sword down hard onto Kalin's outstretched leg. Kalin's aura crackled and broke where the sword struck, and he yelled and forced Cardin back before landing a solid strike on Cardin's shoulder.

Cardin's aura cracked and broke as well, and for a moment the two opponents glared at each other. Both breathing hard, both auras broken, both now extremely vulnerable. Equals, except for that fact that Kalin was holding the sword, and Cardin had his back against the wall of the pit.

'Damn,' Cardin thought. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was in the arena, and now he was cornered.

Kalin held the sword level with Cardin's chest again and nodded.

"I am humbled, boy," he said. "No one has ever struck me with my own sword before."

Cardin's mind raced to come up with a plan. Kalin had him cornered, there was nowhere to run, there was no defense against that sword, except maybe one...

"Had I a son," Kalin continued, "I'd have wanted him to be just like you. But I'm afraid a warrior doesn't stop fighting until his opponent either falls or surrenders, so now I must finish this."

Cardin was confused by Kalin's tone. If he didn't know any better, he would have almost assumed it was regretful.

Kalin thrust forward, and Cardin prayed to Oum that his outrageous idea would work. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Kalin's sword continued on a path toward Cardin's chest, straight and true. Cardin's entire focus was on the sword. The purple blade seemed to creep towards him in slow motion, seeming almost alive with power. At the same time, Cardin saw both of his hands pressing inward toward the blade, both seemingly in a slow race to reach the blade first.

Cardin heard himself yell, and time seemed to speed up again as he caught the sword between his two palms. Both of his hands were pressing hard on the blade, stopping it on its path to impale him. Dark purple whirled around his hands, but Cardin focused only on the task before him. Had the sword not been there, it would have looked like Cardin was praying.

With another yell, Cardin threw the blade to his right, and ran forward into Kalin, who's eyes again widened in surprise. Cardin wasted no time wrapping his hands around Kalin's wrists, and as soon as he had a grip, he wrenched them away from each other, causing Kalin to drop the blade, which fell and began to dematerialize. Cardin payed it no mind as he picked Kalin up and slammed him down into the ground.

Kalin wheezed as the wind was knocked out of him, and Cardin quickly reached out and wrapped his right hand around Kalin's throat. The other held Kalin's arm against the dirt floor.

Kalin gasped for breath and reached his other hand out to summon the sword. He struggled under Cardin's grasp.

"I don't want to kill you," Cardin seethed, looking into Kalin's eyes as the man gasped for breath. "But if that sword materializes in your hand, I'm going to crush your windpipe."

Kalin looked at Cardin and froze. Then slowly, he stopped struggling. With what little air he had left, he wheezed out two words.

"I...submit."

Cardin immediately let go of Kalin's throat. And the man began to breathe again.

Cardin stood up and studied Kalin for a few moments. Then he extended his hand down to the man. Kalin looked at him, then at his hand, then took it. Cardin pulled Kalin to his feet, then turned and walked over to where Arslan and Neptune sat.

Both looked at him with astonishment written across their features. Cardin sat down and turned his head to look at them. They stared at each other for a moment, until Neptune piped up.

"Dude! That was amazing! I've never seen anything like that before!"

Arslan nodded in agreement.

Cardin grinned and gave Neptune a fist bump.

"Yeah it was pretty cool, wasn't it?"

Cardin demeanor then hardened as he turned his head toward Velvet, who was watching him. Oum, it pained him to see her like that. She saw Cardin looking toward her and smiled weakly. Cardin couldn't help but smile back and look as reassuring as possible.

'Don't worry,' he thought. 'I'm going to get you out of here.'

"Now," Bruno's voice boomed. "You will fight for the life of your beloved councilman."

Arslan stood.

"Good luck, Arslan!" Neptune said from next to her.

Arslan smiled and shook her head.

"Thanks Neptune. It's no Atlesian Paladin, but I'll try to give you two a good show."

Cardin and Neptune both laughed, and Arslan stepped forward.

Her opponent jumped down in front of her, and Cardin instantly could tell that something was not right.

Very not right.


	8. Chapter 8

Arslan studied the girl across from her. On the surface, she was nothing extraordinary. She looked to be in her early 20s, just a few years older than Arslan. Her dark brown hair was done up in a tight ponytail, she wore the same scraps that the rest of them wore, along with a scuffed-up pair of black boots to match. All in all, a pretty standard looking ruffian.

But Arslan sensed something within this girl. Something vile, something that existed to cause pain. Something whose only desire was to bring agony forth onto the world and watch it rot. Arslan could see it in her eyes. This girl undoubtably saw Arslan as an opportunity, and if Arslan was not careful, she would take it.

"Begin!"

Arslan watched the girl, who seemed content to stay where she was. A slight smile had crept its way onto her face.

Arslan waited a few moments more, then ran toward the girl. Once she was close, she jumped towards her, drawing her fist back in preparation to strike. She was within feet of striking when a searing pain shot through her body. It was the worst pain Arslan had ever felt before. It seemed to tear through her very soul, and Arslan cried out as her body seized in response.

She fell to the ground beside the girl, who had easily stepped out of the way.

Arslan couldn't move, she couldn't think. The pain was so intense. Her body was twitching involuntarily from the pain. The girl looked down at her and laughed. Her laughter was pure joy, and it was as though she hadn't laughed in quite some time.

Arslan suddenly felt the pain recede. She struggled to stand up, but her body betrayed her. It was still recovering. As she strained to get to her knees, the girl spoke.

"Do you know how long it's been since I got to have fun like this?" She asked.

Arslan still struggled against her body, which demanded that she rest. Arslan ignored her aching limbs.

"Every time I've had a chance like this, my prey has died too early. The pain overloads them, and they just give up. I hate that. Because I never get to see the best part. I never get to watch their sanity deteriorate into nothingness. Listen as their screams turn to laughter, or even moans. It's as though I get the appetizer without the full meal. Can you imagine why that is like? How can you be satisfied with such a small prize when a much grander one lies just beyond your fingertips?"

Arslan strained hard, and was able to get herself into a kneeing position. Her left foot planted firmly in the dirt while her right knee remained down.

"There you go," the girl said, applauding in mockery as she circled Arslan. "You see, this is what I'm talking about. No one has ever been able to withstand the first wave, let alone get up from it."

Arslan grit her teeth as the pain returned. It wasn't as intense this time, but it was enough to paralyze her in place. The girl smirked. She seemed to be having the time of her life.

"I've watched you fight, huntsman. You are made of sterner stuff than most. So, I knew you'd be able to take it. Now, I want to figure out exactly how much. I want to see your limit. Please don't disappoint me."

Arslan cried out as the pain intensified again. Oum, it was excruciating. Her body threatened to give out, to send her sprawling into the dirt again, but Arslan held on. She fought with all of her might to stay in her kneeling position. If she fell, she would never get up again. If she fell, all would be lost. The pain continued rolling over her, tearing through her, demanding that she give in. Arslan screamed, but continued to fight it, refusing to relent. The girl laughed again with glee. She only seemed to be enjoying this more and more.

After what seemed like hours to Arslan, the pain receded again. Arslan barely registered that the girl was clapping, as though she was applauding Arslan's performance.

"Bravo! Bravo!" The girl cheered with glee. "You don't know how happy you have made me. You should be proud huntsman! You should know that you have my respect. I almost want to keep going, but I'm afraid all good things must come to an end."

Arslan was breathing hard, sweat rolled off her as the girl continued.

"But before I put on the big finale, I think it only fitting that I give you some last words. Please, speak freely."

The girl gestured her hands out to Arslan, indicating that she had the floor.

Arslan's head drooped low. Her exhaustion ever present as her body heaved with every breath. She had a great many things she wanted to say to the girl, not many of them pleasant, but instead she struggled to say just a few words.

"You...you..."

Her voice was barely audible.

"What was that?" The girl asked. She leaned down to Arslan's face.

"You...you..."

"You'll have to speak up, huntsman," the girl said, smiling again. She leaned down until her face was inches from Arslan's.

Arslan suddenly brought her head up and looked straight into the girl's eyes.

"You talk too much."

Before the girl could react, Arslan let loose a massive kinetic blast from her forehead, which was mere inches from the girl's own.

The girls head snapped backward. Her aura had not been activated, and she had been solidly concussed by Arslan's blast.

As she stumbled backward, Arslan summoned the last of her strength. With a pained yell, she hauled herself to her feet and lunged for the girl, who was still trying to regain her equilibrium.

Without hesitation, Arslan lifted the girl high and slammed her into the ground.

Then, without missing a beat, Arslan grabbed the girl's forehead in her hand and blasted her again with her semblance. The girl's head shot back and bounced off the dirt, and the rest of her body spasmed with the hit. As her head bounced back, Arslan blasted her again. And again, the girl's head bounced off the dirt, her body spasming once more before falling still.

Arslan held her hand directly above the girl's head, ready to blast her again, but the girl didn't move.

Arslan held her position for a few moments, then when she was sure the girl wasn't getting up, she checked for a pulse.

It was slow, but it was strong. The girl was still alive.

Arslan almost regretted that.

Almost.

Arslan stood up, her legs shaking violently, and slowly began shuffling over to where Cardin and Neptune sat.

The two boys hurried over, placed her arms on her shoulders, and helped her over to the wall of the pit.

...

"Well," Arslan said weakly as the boys supported her. "That didn't feel very good."

She managed a small laugh, even though doing so looked like it took a great deal of pain.

Neptune shook his head.

"Damn it, Arslan. How can you be joking at a time like this?"

"This seemed like a good a time as any," Arslan replied. "I didn't take you for a stick in the mud."

Neptune shook his head again, but Cardin saw a slight smile on the corners of his mouth.

"I prefer the term: 'concerned friend'."

Arslan laughed again as Cardin and Neptune set her down gently against the wall of the pit.

Neptune then turned toward Cardin.

"Are you going to be ok? There is no way your aura is back to full strength yet."

"You're right," Cardin said. "It's not. But we aren't leaving without her. She would do the same for us."

"I don't doubt it," Neptune replied. "But maybe I could step in. My arm is almost healed, and I've still got your armor."

"Not a good idea," Cardin shook his head to emphasize his point. "They're saving the best for last, and I guarantee that they will go for your arm first. If that breaks again, you won't last long after."

Neptune looked like he wanted to protest, but Cardin put a hand on his shoulder.

"If I don't make it, take Arslan, take the councilman, and get out of here. Go back to Vale, build up a force, and come back for her."

"And you," Neptune said. He stared straight at Cardin. Cardin stared back, and smiled.

"And me, of course."

Neptune nodded, then he frowned slightly, as though something was amiss

.

"Hey, have you always been this tall?"

Cardin found himself smiling wider.

"Not until recently," he said, before turning and walking forward to the center of the pit.

He stopped and looked up to where Velvet still knelt next to the leader. She was looking back at him. She shook her head at Cardin, and he knew what she was trying to say.

She wanted him to leave her. Arslan had just fought for the councilman's freedom, so their mission was complete. If one team member didn't make it back, it was acceptable. Unfortunate, to be certain, but acceptable.

Except it was not.

Not in Cardin's book.

'No, Velvet,' Cardin thought. 'We didn't come this far to quit now. We are all going home today.'

Cardin shook his head back at her.

'Im not backing down. Not today.'

Cardin then turned and stared at Bruno. His blood boiled at the sight of him.

"Now for her," Cardin said. "I'm ready."

The leader smiled down at him. Cardin almost grimaced at the sight.

"Good," Bruno said. "So am I."

With that, Bruno jumped down into the ring.

Cardin shouldn't have been surprised, but he still felt his blood run cold. Bruno landed hard on the ground of the pit, and the ground made way for him, making a small crater.

Cardin watched as Bruno stood up, a cloud of dust forming where the leader had landed. Then, as though the dust had a mind of its own, it immediately fell back to the earth.

Cardin frowned. Something was wrong here.

Then he realized it.

It was Bruno all along. He was the reason the ground had come alive. It was his semblance.

His semblance was the ability to manipulate the earth.

And Cardin was about to fight him.

The leader of the bandits smiled at him.

"Begin!" He bellowed, and Cardin ducked out of the way as a rock spire came out of the ground to impale him.

Cardin quickly turned and rushed toward Bruno. If he stayed at a distance, he would get impaled. Of that, he was certain. As he neared the leader, he quickly ducked and weaved around the numerous rock spires that came to meet him. The rock attacks themselves were slow and easy to dodge, but there were a great many of them, and if Cardin didn't end this soon, he was going to be trapped in a field of rock spikes. And as soon as that happened, there would be nowhere to run.

Cardin was almost to Bruno when a rock wall appeared between him and the leader. Without much hesitation or thought, Cardin concentrated his aura to his shoulder, ducked low, and charged through the wall. The rock gave fairly easily, and Cardin's shoulder made contact with Bruno's stomach on the other side.

With his shoulder firmly driven into the leader's gut, Cardin drove his body upward, sending Bruno flying up into the air.

Bruno attempted to twist midair to land, but Cardin grabbed his foot.

Twisting his hips, Cardin swung Bruno like a sword and threw him into the wall of the pit.

Bruno smashed into the wall with such a force that not only was he embedded in the wall, but a massive crack formed and ran up the wall, causing the spectating bandits above to step back warily.

Cardin watched as Bruno began to dig himself out of the wall. With a loud, crack, Bruno freed himself, and stood up slowly. He spat to the side, and then grinned at Cardin.

Cardin stared back, but quickly dropped his gaze as Bruno's feet suddenly sank into the ground.

Befuddled, Cardin glanced back down to where Bruno had been standing before he threw him, and noticed two foot-sized indents in the rock.

That was it.

That was the key.

Bruno's feet had to be planted within the ground for him to use his semblance.

And that was how Cardin was going to beat him.

Cardin turned his head back just in time to see a boulder the size of a motorcycle flying toward his face. He fell to the side, and rolled out of the way just in time to miss another. Bruno was now hurling boulders at him from the walls of the pit.

'Fine,' Cardin thought. 'Two can play at that game.'

He stopped rolling and stood his ground as Bruno hurled another boulder at him.

This time, Cardin reached out and caught the boulder in both hands. Cardin slid back on his feet, but he held his ground. Once the boulder was firmly in his grasp, Cardin hoisted it over his head and heaved it back toward Bruno.

...

Bruno watched the rock approach, twirling through the air as it sailed toward him. At the last second, Bruno willed the boulder to explode, and it did. The boulder evaporated into a fine dust cloud right in front of him, just like he had expected. What he hadn't expected was Cardin jumping through the dust cloud and punching him square in the face, but that happened too.

Bruno reeled backward from the force of the punch, clutching his nose as he did so.

Now he was angry.

...

Bruno bellowed in rage, and Cardin rushed towards him before he could recover. Or at least, he would have, if his feet didn't sink into the ground right then. Cardin attempted to break his feet out, but two rock spires broke out of the ground and caught his wrists, effectively trapping him in place.

Cardin struggled to break free but was suddenly winded as something hard made contact with his face.

He looked up, and was immediately struck again. Bruno had covered his arms in rock, and continued to rain punches down onto Cardin.

"You know," Bruno said as he punched Cardin again. "This could've been avoided. You could've just left, but no, you had to stick around to save your pet."

Pet.

Cardin felt the red seep into his vision before he could see it. His rock restraints began to crack. Bruno punched him again.

"What? Don't tell me you actually care for that mongrel."

Mongrel.

The red was threatening to take over Cardin's very being. It began to blanket his vision and cloud his mind. Chips of rock began to fall from Cardin's restraints, and cracks snaked outward from where Cardin's feet were buried in the ground. Bruno hardly noticed as he smashed Cardin's face again.

"You do, don't you? That freak actually means something to you, doesn't she? Well, in that case, maybe she IS worth more than killing since you seem to value her so much. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find SOME use for her."

His face split into a monstrous grin again.

That did it.

The red took over, and Cardin barely registered anything but an overwhelming desire to tear Bruno to pieces.

He barely registered breaking free of his restraints, but he fully registered grabbing Bruno by the throat and slamming him into the ground. He also fully registered pulling his hand back and slamming it into Bruno's face.

Repeatedly.

Cardin barely registered seeing Bruno's feet begin to sink into the ground, but he fully registered pulling Bruno up and holding him high in the air by his throat.

Bruno desperately tried to pry Cardin's hands off of his neck, but Cardin refused to slacken his grip.

Bruno's feet kicked in the air, desperately trying to touch the ground. But Cardin held him high.

Bruno coughed and bucked, doing everything in his power to escape, but his consciousness was fading fast, and his aura was completely depleted from Cardin's blows.

"I...I yield," he choked out.

"Louder," Cardin growled. "So they can hear you."

Bruno looked at him for a moment, panic seeping into his features.

"I submit!" Bruno coughed out. His voice ringing loud and clear.

With that, Cardin begrudgingly released his grip on Bruno's neck, and the leader of the bandits crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.

Cardin watched him wretch and cough for a few moments before looking up to where Velvet sat at the edge of the pit.

He saw that her eyes were wide with worry, but as she began to realize that Cardin had won, a smile began to form on her face. It started small, almost hesitantly, as if she was afraid that this was all a ruse. But slowly, Cardin saw her recognize that what she saw was real. Cardin had won, and they all were free to go home.

Cardin stared at her for a brief moment, taking in her face. She was bruised and battered, but when she wore that smile, none of that mattered. Cardin realized that he stared a minute too long, and he turned his attention back to Bruno, who had just pulled himself up onto his feet. His entire body was shaking, and Cardin knew he wouldn't be much of a threat.

"I won," Cardin said, venom in his tone. "We all are free to go."

Bruno looked up at him.

"Of course, huntsman," Bruno said, his ever-gruesome smile returning. "Be my guest."

Cardin frowned at him. He sensed something was wrong. Then he knew what it was.

Bruno's feet were sunken into the ground.

A deep rumble sounded throughout the cavern, and huntsmen and bandits alike turned their heads to the ceiling.

The rumble sounded again. This time it was louder, and this time, it didn't stop. The ground began to shake, and Cardin's eyes widened as he realized what that meant.

Bruno was never going to let them leave, and to ensure they didn't, he was going to bring the entire cavern down on them.

The bandits around the pit began to scream and run toward a destination Cardin couldn't see from the pit. He assumed it was the exit.

Cardin whirled around to face Bruno.

"Are you crazy?!" He shouted. "You'll kill us all! Even yourself!"

Bruno's response was to cackle maniacally.

"We will see about that," he shouted back, and almost instantly, the ground opened up beneath him, and Bruno dropped through the floor and out of sight.

Cardin quickly whirled back to Neptune and Arslan, who were both running towards him.

Cardin pointed to Velvet and the councilman, who were still tied up at the lip of the pit.

"Let's grab them and get out of here!" He shouted over the rumbling.

Neptune and Arslan both nodded furiously, and together the three of them ran to the wall of the pit.

Cardin pumped his aura into his legs, and pushed off the dirt with an aura infused jump. The floor of the pit fell away behind him as he flew up toward the top.

Cardin overshot the edge by a few feet, and he landed hard before running toward Velvet. Once he reached her, he furiously worked to untie her bindings.

"Cardin, you idiot!" Velvet shouted. "You should have left me! Now you've put all of us in danger!"

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome!" Cardin shouted back as he finished untying the last of her restraints.

Velvet quickly whirled around to face him, anger quite obvious on her face. The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Velvet looked like she wanted to say more, but present circumstances seemed to deter her.

"This conversation isn't over!" She shouted, before turning her attention to the councilman, who was being assisted by Neptune and Arslan.

Cardin turned to where the bandits were running off to. It was a long tunnel of some sort, and he saw a beam of light at the very end.

That was their ticket out.

"Hunstmen!" A voice shouted from behind them. They all turned toward the voice and saw Kalin running toward them, all of their weapons and scrolls in hand.

Neptune and Arslan looked at Cardin, uncertain of whether or not to trust Kalin. Cardin said nothing, and he stared at Kalin as he stopped a few feet from the group. Kalin locked eyes with Cardin, then nodded slowly.

Cardin stared at him for a few moments more, then nodded back. Then he turned to the rest of the group.

"We can trust him, let's go."

The other three still seemed uncertain, but they hustled forward and grabbed their things from Kalin, who sprinted away to the exit once his arms were empty.

"Let's move!" Cardin yelled as he hefted his mace on his shoulder. No one needed to be told twice, and soon they were all sprinting toward the exit, Neptune and Arslan supporting the councilman in front, and Cardin and Velvet bringing up the rear.

The exit loomed closer, and Cardin noticed that even with the councilman in tow, Neptune and Arslan were outrunning him and Velvet. At first, Cardin was confused as to how Velvet was falling behind with him. He knew she was faster than this.

'She's lagging behind with me on purpose,' Cardin thought. 'She doesn't want to leave me behind.'

Cardin angrily turned to tell her to go ahead, but his blood turned to ice in his veins when he saw why she was actually keeping pace with him.

She was limping. Her left leg was hurt bad, and that was the reason she was lagging behind with Cardin. Cardin looked at her leg, then to the exit, which was still about fifty feet away, and then at the ceiling of the cavern, which was threatening to cave in at any moment.

His mind raced for a way out, some way to give them just a little bit more time, something to...

BOOM.

Cardin's head jolted back upward to see that the ceiling of the cavern was collapsing. Hundreds of tons of rock were now falling to the floor below. Cardin snapped his head to the exit, which was now less than twenty feet away. Arslan and and Neptune were already outside, but Cardin and Velvet...

They wouldn't make it.

'No,' Cardin thought. 'Only one of us won't to make it.'

Cardin sprinted over to Velvet and picked her up by her waist.

"What? Cardin what are you doing?" Velvet yelled.

"Hold yourself straight!" Cardin yelled.

His tone was so imperative that Velvet obeyed without understanding why.

Cardin positioned her so that her midsection balanced on his hand. Took a few steps forward, wound his arm back, and quite literally threw Velvet. He had pumped all of the aura he could muster into the throw, and Velvet sailed through the air, her body stiff and straight like a spear.

Cardin watched her fly through the crumbling rock and soil and out through the entrance.

She made it.

"Thank Oum," Cardin said aloud. He sighed in relief as the cavern collapsed on top of him.

The world went dark.


	9. Chapter 9

Velvet barely understood what was happening as she sailed through the air. All around her, rock was falling, but she seemed to miss every one. The entrance came up fast, and soon she was blinded as sunlight bathed her. She landed outside the entrance with a loud thud, and slid for a few few before coming to a stop.

She laid there for a few moments, checking to make sure nothing was broken. Her leg still hurt, but no knee injuries had appeared. She then stood up and dusted herself off. Velvet heard movement to her left, and she looked in that direction to see Neptune and Arslan walking up to her with the councilman supported between them. He was banged and bruised, but other than that, he was fine. Neptune and Arslan seemed to be alright as well.

Velvet sighed in relief. They were all here, all except...

Velvet's heart skipped a beat.

Cardin.

'Cardin,' Velvet thought. Her mind scrambling to come up with an explanation. 'Where is Cardin?'

Velvet struggled to think of where he might be, and a vision of her being lifted by him and thrown out of the mouth of the cave appeared in her mind.

The last time she saw him, they were...

Velvet froze.

'No.'

'No. No. No. No.'

Velvet frantically turned to where the mouth of the cave should have been. All she saw was a pile of rubble.

"CARDIN!" Velvet screamed. She ran over to the rubble, her leg protested the movement, but she didn't care. Her leg didn't matter. Nothing else mattered.

She frantically climbed on top of the rubble and began to dig. Her hands shoved rocks out of the way and clawed the dirt aside. Tears began streaming down her face.

He was in there. She had to find him. She had to...

Strong arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from the rubble. Velvet frantically began to kick and scream.

"Velvet!" Arslan's voice said from behind her. "Velvet, stop! Listen to me!"

"No!" Velvet yelled through the tears. She attempted to get away from Arslan. "He's still in there! He's trapped! I have to get him out of there! I have to save him!"

"Velvet, you have to listen to me!" Arlsan said, holding onto Velvet for dear life. "We can't dig randomly! He could be trapped! If we start moving rubble around, we could kill him! We have to think! Please, stop!"

Velvet continued to struggle and sob against Arslan's grip for a few moments, but Arslan's reasoning soon registered in her mind, and she stopped reluctantly. Only then did Arslan release her.

Velvet turned quickly to look at Arslan.

"What do we do?" She asked frantically. "We can't leave him there!"

"Velvet," Arslan said. "Calm down. I need you to think, exactly how far back from the entrance is he?"

Velvet struggled to think of where Cardin was in the rubble.

...

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was a void, and Cardin rather enjoyed that. He felt no pain. He just was.

Unfortunately, that didn't last. Cardin groaned as his entire body began to remind him how damaged it was.

He tried to open his eyes, but nothing happened. Cardin was at first confused. Had he really forgotten how to open his eyes?

Cardin then realized that his eyes were open. He just couldn't see anything. Cardin sat up slowly, and his body resisted him.

He felt the air on his skin. It was hot and dusty. Where was he?

Cardin was irritated that he couldn't see anything. If only there was some way to make a light, then he could see.

Cardin then remembered that all life had a built in light source. He activated his aura.

A dum orange glow suddenly filled his vision. Cardin blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust.

He was in a small space. Just high enough for him to stand fully up in, and only just wide enough for him to lay down in. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all dirt and rock, and Cardin searched his memory to try and figure out where he was and how he got here.

The last thing he remembered was picking up Velvet and...

Velvet!

Cardin shot up into a standing position.

'That's it,' he thought. He must still be in the cave. Somehow, the falling rock and dirt had packed around him, making a small compartment right where he had fallen. Cardin could never recall a time when he had been so lucky.

He felt something hard against his foot, and he squatted down to get a better view.

It was his mace. And Cardin felt a rush of joy as he picked up the weapon. At least he wasn't entirely alone down here. Cardin felt the familiar weight in his hands, and instantly, he felt more relaxed.

Cardin then realized that he couldn't stay down here. He would suffocate if he did.

So, he hefted his mace onto his shoulder, and began to think.

His biggest priority right now was air. Right now, he only had about ten minutes of air left. Cardin examined the small space he was in, and tried to remember which direction the entrance had been in. If he was lucky, the dirt there was thin enough that his plan would work.

Cardin decided on a wall at random, and he walked over to it. Cardin hefted his mace in both hands, and he held it upside down so that he was holding the bladed head of the mace.

Carefully, Cardin poked the mace into the wall. Cardin pushed the shaft deeper into the dirt, and deeper still. He pushed it in until the head was flush against the wall. He pulled the mace out, and examined the hole. It went deep into the rock and dirt, but Cardin saw no light, which was not a good thing.

He sighed and his shoulders slumped. That plan was all he had, if that didn't work, what could he do?

'Wait,' Cardin thought. He tilted his head back and examined the ceiling. Maybe he had the right idea, but in the wrong direction. Cardin quickly held his mace headfirst again...

...

"There," Velvet said, pointing to a spot on the pile of rubble. Her voice was urgent, and her ears twitched and fidgeted in anxiety.

Arslan and Neptune stood on either side of her. Both fixated on the spot she was pointing to. It was roughly fifteen feet from where the entrance used to be. Dirt and rock were piled high.

"Are you certain?" Arslan asked.

'No,' Velvet thought. 'No, I'm not. But we have to try.'

Velvet opened her mouth to answer Arslan, and Neptune yelped and jumped back in fright.

"What?!" Velvet and Arslan both asked simultaneously, instantly on the alert for trouble.

"Look!" Neptune exclaimed, pointing back to the spot Velvet had indicated. Both Arslan and Velvet turned and saw that a gray rod had suddenly sprouted from the ground. It was roughly half a foot tall, and it was a little less than two inches in diameter.

At first glance, it looked like a handle to something. Velvet thought it looked familiar for a moment. Then she realized that it WAS familiar. She had taken at least a hundred pictures of it.

It was the handle of Cardin's mace. And it had just popped out of the ground.

Tears began forming in Velvet's eyes again, and she almost jumped forward to reach the hilt when Arslan's arm stopped her.

"Hold on, Velvet. We still have to be careful."

"What do you mean?" Velvet demanded impatiently. "He's right there! We can grab him."

"If he is able to do that, then he has room to move down there," Arslan reasoned. As she spoke, the handle retreated back into the rubble.

"And now he has air," Arlsan added. "And he can probably hear us."

"Cardin!" Velvet cried out immediately. "Cardin! Can you hear me?"

...

Cardin pulled his mace out of the hole he had made, and sunlight immediately streamed through the hole. Cardin was momentarily blinded as the space lit up, and he blinked a few times to refocus his eyes.

He immediately heard a muffled voice coming from the hole, and he listened carefully.

"Cardin! Can you hear me?"

It was Velvet, and Cardin was glad to hear her voice.

"Velvet!" He called through the hole. "I can hear you! Are you alright?"

...

"Are you alright?"

Velvet clenched her fists.

'Am I alright?'

'AM. I. ALRIGHT?!'

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, CARDIN?!" Velvet screamed at the hole.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Uhhhh, no?" Cardin's voice said back.

"YOU'RE BURIED ALIVE, AND YOU'RE ASKING ME IF I'M ALRIGHT?!"

Neptune and Arslan both took a step away from Velvet. They had never seen her like this before.

"Ok. Sorry I guess," Cardin's voice came from the hole. "Anyway, did you it's see the handle? How high did it stick up? I'm trying to figure out how thick the rock is."

...

Velvet still looked like she wanted to murder someone, so Arslan stepped warily around her and called out.

"The handle stuck up about half a foot, Cardin. How high is your ceiling down there?"

No response came from the hole.

Arslan waited a few moments, then called out again.

"Cardin?"

"Guys, I've got an idea," came his voice. "Stand back."

"Cardin, what are you trying to do?" Arslan called back warily.

"Just trust me, guys," Cardin's voice called back.

Arslan shared a glance with Neptune, who shrugged and took a few steps back to where the councilman sat silently.

Arslan then looked at Velvet, who seemed to have at least calmed down a little and stepped back a few paces.

"I'm going to kill him," Arslan heard her mumble under her breath.

Arlsan decided to disregard that for now, and stepped back to where Neptune was, waiting to see what Cardin's plan was.

...

"This is so dumb," Cardin muttered to himself as he tried to work some of the soreness out of his joints.

'Ok,' Cardin thought to himself as he hefted his mace in a baseball grip. 'What's the worst that could happen?'

Cardin pictured a planet-sized meteor colliding with Remnant right as he enacted his plan.

'Yeah, that's probably it,' he thought. 'Now what's the best-case scenario?'

Cardin pictured himself jumping out of the space he was trapped in, going back to Vale, being hailed as a hero, getting a statue in his name, and retiring on a beach somewhere with a cool drink in his hand.

'Sweet,' Cardin thought. Without further thought, he activated the dust crystal embedded in the head of his mace. He didn't use it as much as he should in combat, but he figured now would be a good a time as any.

"Here goes nothing," he said aloud. With that, Cardin summoned the last of his aura and smashed his mace into the ceiling with all of his might.

...

Neptune staggered back as the pile of rubble exploded right where Cardin's hole had been. Neptune protectively covered the councilman as dirt and rock rained down on them, covering both him and the girls in dust. Neptune closed his eyes.

When the raining stopped, Neptune opened his eyes and looked back at the pile of rubble. There was now a massive crater where Cardin's hole had been, and Neptune's face lit up as the big man himself climbed out of the crater. Neptune watched as Cardin coughed a few times, and then he looked up and the two guys made eye contact. Cardin smirked back at him.

"Hey guys," Cardin said. "What's up?"

Neptune started forward to make sure Cardin was ok, but Velvet was faster. Neptune slowed to a stop as she ran to Cardin.

'That makes sense,' Neptune thought with an internal smile. 'She is the team leader after all, everyone's well-being should be her topmost priori- '

Velvet punched Cardin in the face.

Hard.

Cardin stumbled backward and dropped his mace. He quickly lost his balance on the uneven dirt and fell on his butt. Velvet wasted no time raining more blows on his head, and Cardin held both of his arms up in a futile defense against her onslaught.

Neptune watched in a confused silence. He looked quizzically over at Arslan, who shook her head as if to say: 'just stay out of it.'

Neptune nodded in acknowledgment. He certainly had no plans on interfering with that.

...

Cardin covered himself as best as he could, but Velvet was attacking ferociously, and there was only so much he could do.

"Velvet!" Cardin cried out in confusion. "What the hell are you doing?"

Velvet ignored him and continued to rain blows down on him.

"Is this what you want, Cardin?!" she yelled through gritted teeth. "Do you just love getting your ass kicked?!"

"No! No, I don't!" Cardin yelled, still covering his face. "What are you even talking about?"

"Are you sure?!" Velvet screamed. "You seem pretty content with making choices that nearly kill you! So, you must be feeling right at home right now!"

"What do you mean? What, because I fought for you back in the cav-OW!"

He paused as Velvet landed a solid blow on his ear.

Cardin saw no way out of this, but luckily Velvet suddenly ceased her onslaught.

Cardin looked up to see Velvet struggling against Neptune and Arslan, who were both in turn struggling to keep her at bay.

"Come on, Velvet!" Cardin begged. He scrambled to his feet and held his arms out in a pleading gesture. "You would've done the same for me!"

Cardin's words seemed to pacify Velvet, and she stopped struggling against Neptune and Arslan. They let her go, but she continued to glare angrily at Cardin.

"Look," Cardin said, his hands held out in a semi-pleading but still semi-defensive gesture. "We're all here now, and we are all ok. So, maybe we could just forget about it?"

Velvet glared at him for a few more moments before turning to Arslan and Neptune.

"We should call Goodwitch," she said. Her tone was flat.

Neptune held his scroll up.

"Already did," he said, a quirky smile on his face. "ETA: Ten minutes."

Velvet nodded, then walked over to the councilman and began conversing with him. She refused to look at Cardin.

Before long, the airship arrived at their position. Everyone climbed aboard, but Velvet sat on the opposite side, the furthest away from Cardin.

In a matter of minutes, they were on their way back to Vale.

Cardin tried to think of something to say to her, but he decided it might be better to let her simmer down for a while.

Neptune piped up from the seat next to him.

"Hey man, do you know how to get this thing off?"

Neptune waved his hand for emphasis, and Cardin realized that Neptune was still wearing his bracer.

"Is your arm good to go?" Cardin asked.

"Better than ever. Aura is a beautiful thing, isn't it?"

Cardin nodded as he undid the piece of armor from Neptune's arm. As he removed it, Cardin examined Neptune's arm to see that it was, in fact, completely healed.

"Yeah, aura is a beautiful thing. It's too bad it can't help me out with all my problems," Cardin said, looking in Velvet's direction.

Neptune let out a light chuckle. "Women, there's not much that can help you out with that."

Cardin couldn't help but laugh. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case here.

Neptune continued, "I wouldn't worry though, she'll come around."

Cardin nodded, and the two lapsed into silence.

They were content like that for a while until Neptune frowned. He seemed to be pondering something, and Cardin was about to ask what when Neptune suddenly looked at Arslan and said:

"What did you say back there? Did you really say, 'you talk too much?'"

Cardin leaned across the space to look at Arslan as well. Even Velvet momentarily forgot her anger at Cardin to look at Arslan.

Arslan turned and looked at each of them in turn, then she cracked a small smile.

"Yeah, she was killing me out there. If I had known she would be some sadistic monologue, I would've killed my self straight-up and saved her the trouble."

Neptune paused for a second, then it seemed he could not contain himself any longer and started laughing.

The others followed suit, and soon the whole cargo hold had turned into a hysterical comedy hut. Even Velvet was holding her sides by the time they were finished.

By the time they were winding down, they were soaring over the streets of Vale.

Cardin watched as the capital building came into view, and he as he looked closer, he saw Goodwitch standing on the roof, her eyes trained on the airship as it drew near. Around her was a small team of medics, likely for the councilman in case of an emergency. Cardin also recognized some other council members, no doubt here to welcome their colleague home.

As the airship began its decent, Cardin watched Goodwitch step out onto the landing pad to meet them. The wash generated by the engines blew her hair and jewelry every which way, but she seemed unfazed as the airship touched down.

The pilot killed the engines, and the noise quickly died as well.

Cardin stepped out of the airship, then turned and assisted the councilman out as well. The others moved to file out behind him. The medics instantly began tending to the councilman, and the other council members followed to ensue he was alright.

Since Cardin was out first, he ended up being the closest to Goodwitch, and he turned towards her as she walked up to him.

"Mr. Winchester, it certainly is a relief to see that you and your teammates have returned safely."

She then turned her head and examined the councilman. After a moment, she seemed content that the councilman was in good health.

"And you have rescued the hostage with no major damage done. I think we can call this mission a success."

Cardin noticed that even though her eyes seemed tired and stressed, her whole body seemed to relax a bit.

Cardin felt himself smile, he had a feeling she hadn't had something to feel happy about in a little while, and to have helped out made him feel all the more satisfied.

"Heh, piece of cake, professor," he said, nonchalantly hefting his mace onto his shoulder.

Goodwitch nodded and then addressed the team.

"Excellent work, you four. I will take it from here."

She turned towards Velvet.

"Ms. Scarlatina, I'm sure you are eager to get some rest, but I'm afraid I must ask you remain her for just a little while so you can give me a full report."

Velvet nodded.

"Of course, professor."

Goodwitch then turned to address the group again.

"The rest of you may get some rest, I will contact you if any more problems arise."

With that, Goodwitch turned and walked over to the small gaggle of council members and medics, Velvet gave Cardin a 'we will talk later' kind of look, then followed closely behind Goodwitch.

Cardin and the others watched her go.

"Sooooo, no ride home then?" Neptune asked, more to himself than to the others.

He turned over to look at the pilot, who stared back from the cockpit and shook her head.

Neptune slumped his shoulders, but he followed Cardin and Arslan off the roof, down the stairs and then back outside on the ground level.

"Well, I guess I'm walking then. No disrespect guys, but if I don't find a bed soon, I'm going to pass out standing."

Arslan frowned at him.

"Yeah, watching me and Cardin get beat into a pulp must be exhausting," Arslan said sarcastically. She must have been tired too, as Cardin had rarely seen her use sarcasm.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Neptune said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'll see you guys."

He turned and walked away from the other two.

Cardin smirked.

"He might be a baby, but he's got a point, Arslan" he said. "A nap sounds pretty good right now. So, I'll see you later."

Arslan wordlessly nodded back, and Cardin turned on his heel and began walking the not-so-short distance back to the compound.

When he finally got back to his room, he fumbled with his armor with tired hands. His sleepy coordination was inefficient, but he eventually removed the heavy metal from his body. Eyes dropping, Cardin hastily threw his mace and armor in a pile on the corner and collapsed on the bed.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Aw yeah! That's what I'm talking about! I have to admit, I was kind of surprised when people asked me to continue the story, I didn't realized that it had grown to have its own little following. That aside, thank you so much for your support! I plan on wrapping this story up in a neat little bow soon, but for now, please enjoy! And don't forget to leave a comment or send me a message about your reactions to the story. I love the feedback!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I suppose I should start off with an apology to anyone that has been holding their breath for me to update the story. I wanted to continue, but the lack of direction in where I wanted the story to go combined with other things kept me from coming back to this. But now, it's summer, so hopefully I can find a way to continue or wrap this up depending on what you guys think. I once again apologize. That was very not cash money of me. But either way, please enjoy the new chapter! Reminder that I own nothing!

Velvet was still furious with Cardin, but she tried to keep her cool as she sat in Goodwitch's office. She was still inside the capital building, but Goodwitch had stepped out for a few moments to speak with the council. Despite not being an official member, Velvet guessed that Goodwitch was just as, if not more important as the rest of them.

Velvet took a few moments to glance about the office while she waited. True to the nature of its primary user, everything about the office was a testament to order and cleanliness. Despite the numerous papers and books that lined the shelves, not a single object appeared to be out of place. At the same time, there also appeared to be nothing in the office personalized to Goodwitch at all. There were no pictures of family, no trinkets, no baubles, not even a name plate to put on the front of the desk, which surprised Velvet initially, but she supposed that Goodwitch commanded enough authority that everyone knew where her office was, so there was no need to be redundant.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the door opened and Goodwitch herself stepped in. Velvet stood up subconsciously as she entered.

"Please. Have a seat, Ms. Scarlatina," Goodwitch said as she walked around to the other side of her desk. The office door closed softly behind her.

"Yes, professor," Velvet said, returning to her original position.

"Now," Goodwitch said as she took a seat behind her desk. "Let's begin."

Velvet nodded and gave her report of the mission in detail while Goodwitch took detailed notes on her scroll. Despite it just being the two of them, Velvet noticed that Goodwitch maintained her rigid posture and firm gaze throughout the entirety of it. Velvet supposed that she shouldn't have expected anything else.

Goodwitch listened attentively as Velvet recounted everything that had happened. Once she had finished, her former professor made a few more notes before looking up at Velvet.

"You say that due to your captivity and Mr. Vasilias's injury, Mr. Winchester and Ms. Altan had to fight on your behalf and that of the Councilman in the bandit's headquarters?"

"That's correct," Velvet said.

"I see," Goodwitch typed a few more notes down onto her scroll. "And Mr. Winchester fought for your freedom specifically?"

"Yes, professor."

"And is it also true that he sacrificed himself to save you from the cavern as it collapsed?"

"Yes."

Velvet was confused at the line of questioning. It seemed as though Goodwitch was driving towards a point.

"I must say, I have noticed quite a difference in Mr. Winchester's demeanor as of late."

Velvet was confused even more. Goodwitch was correct of course, but certainly this wasn't information pertinent to the mission report?

"I…suppose that is true professor."

"Indeed. I must say it is a breath of fresh air. My encounters with him have been irksome in the past, but he seems to have found a nice change of pace," Goodwitch said as she set her scroll down and folded her hands on the desk.

Velvet was pretty sure that they were off the book now, and if she didn't know any better, she would've thought that Goodwitch was on the verge of engaging her with small talk.

"I…I think so, too."

"I'm sure you do. Despite his apparent fixation on Mr. Arc during his time at Beacon, I don't recall him ever being particularly kind to you either. However, that seems different to have changed."

"Yes, professor. I believe he certainly has seen the error of his ways. I really think he is trying to be… a more tolerant individual."

"I agree, so perhaps you can enlighten me as to why you are so upset with him?"

Velvet was taken aback. Goodwitch had always possessed an acute knowledge of what went on around her, which was a trait she had exercised considerably back at Beacon. Every member of the student body had firsthand experience with her and her eagle eyes. Very few got away with passing notes or sleeping in class, and when Goodwitch inevitably busted them for it, their punishment had been generous. This led many students to believe that she was secretly a Faunus, as there could be no other explanation as to her amazing cognitive abilities. So, when she brought up Velvet's attitude with Cardin, Velvet was not surprised at all that she had known about it. No, what surprised Velvet was Goodwitch's decision to openly discuss it with her. It was another well-known observation that Goodwitch steered clear of the personal lives of her students, keeping no relationships beyond that of strictly professional. It was her code. And bringing up Cardin to Velvet seemed to be crossing the line a bit.

"I…uh…I'm not sure what you mean, professor," Velvet said uncertainly.

"I am referring to your overt hostility towards him when you returned from your mission. An attitude that I did not see directed toward other members of your team, Ms. Scarlatina," Goodwitch replied without missing a beat.

"Well…" Velvet said. This personal question had come way out of left field, and Velvet knew that she had every right to refuse to answer. It was her business, not Goodwitch's, but at the same time, Velvet needed to vent. And before she knew it, she said her piece.

"He took it upon himself to fight for me in the pit when he should have left," Velvet said. She kept her voice level, but with no small amount of effort. A scowl began to creep onto her features. "The priority was to get the councilman to safety, and Cardin decided to stay behind and jeopardize the mission by fighting more than was necessary. In addition, he also prioritized my safety over his when the cavern collapsed. He forsook the opportunity to save himself by coming to my aid, and almost lost his life as a result."

Goodwitch leaned back slightly in her seat. Hands still folded in front of her. For a moment, she reminded Velvet of Ozpin from her posture.

"Ms. Scarlatina, am I to assume that you would have acted differently had you been in Mr. Winchester's position?"

"I…" Velvet paused. Goodwitch left her stumbling over her words, yet again. Just another superpower of Goodwitch's to be added to the list.

Velvet frowned and thought for a moment. If it had been Cardin at the edge of the pit, Velvet would have stayed to fight for him in a heartbeat. And if she had to choose between him and her making it out of that collapsing cavern, she would have chosen him every time. She would've acted in the exact same manner he had. Velvet slumped her shoulders in defeat. Her ears drooped slightly.

"I would have done the exact same thing," Velvet mumbled.

Goodwitch nodded once. "Even putting brash heroism aside, Mr. Winchester acted in a manner conducive to the mission. You were the leader of the team, Ms. Scarlatina. Had you been lost or left behind, the team would have been left without its commanding member. On the other hand, had Mr. Winchester been lost or left behind, it would certainly be regrettable, but the team would still be left with a functioning leader."

"So, you're saying there is absolutely no reason for me to be angry with Cardin?"

"Of course not," Goodwitch said. "Had he been one of my teammates, I would have pummeled him into the dirt for acting so recklessly."

Velvet could've sworn she saw a hint of a smirk on Goodwitch's face for a moment.

"But what I am saying, is not to be too angry with him. After all, he has saved your life twice today, hasn't he?"

Velvet was speechless.

"This would suggest he seems to have cultivated a high regard for your personal safety, which really makes him a great asset to your team. Someone like that is one you'd rather keep close, wouldn't you say? I wouldn't hesitate to say that he may deserve recognition for his actions."

Goodwitch then stood up from her desk, not even giving Velvet time to digest what she had just said.

"Well, Ms. Scarlatina. I thank you for your report and congratulate both you and your team on a job well done. I recommend that you go and get some rest now. You've more than earned it. I will be in contact with you if there is anything else."

Goodwitch then turned and strode out of the office, leaving Velvet in her chair wondering what in Remnant had just happened.

…

The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon as Velvet walked in the direction of the compound. She walked somewhat slowly as she was still deep in thought. Having a rare talk with Goodwitch certainly had given her a lot to think about. As always, her former professor had been extremely sensible. Velvet had only been focusing on what she thought were the negative parts of Cardin's actions, when she hadn't even bothered on wondering why he did them in the first place. Goodwitch hadn't known, but Velvet could list not just two, but three times now that Cardin had come to her aid. Maybe she was right, maybe Cardin did prioritize her personal safety a great deal.

But what in Oum's name could she have possibly meant by giving him recognition?

Velvet certainly agreed that thanks were in order, but Goodwitch had made it seem as though Cardin deserved more than that. Why she had made such a suggestion, Velvet had no idea. But the more she mulled it over, the more she found herself agreeing. Cardin did deserve a token of Velvet's gratitude, but how could she possibly show her appreciation? Getting him a gift seemed a bit weird, as gifts were usually reserved for special occasions and not really much else. So…what then?

An idea came into Velvet's mind as she arrived at the compound.

…

Cardin roused himself from his nap still feeling tired. Checking his scroll, he saw that he hadn't slept very long, and that it was getting late. Cardin would have loved nothing more than to go back to sleep, but he realized that he had not showered since he had returned from the mission, and he was covered in dirt, sweat, and grime. All were things that he did not feel like sleeping in.

Pulling himself up and out of the bed with a groan, Cardin dragged himself over to the mirror. Removing his shirt and pants that he wore underneath his armor, Cardin looked at himself and saw that in addition to dirt and grime, he also had a number of bruises located all across his body. One of the largest was on his back. It was very tender, and Cardin remembered that as the spot where Kalin had struck him with his weird, purple, aura-cutting semblance-sword. Cardin shuddered at the memory of the dangerous weapon. The sword itself was beautiful and horrifying at the same time. It was a ferocious yet elegant blade that could take your life with so much as a flick of the wrist. Even with his aura, Cardin had almost been cut in half by that thing, and it still had left one nasty bruise.

Cardin activated his aura and felt the bruises slowly disappear with the exception of the one on his back. The aura still helped greatly, but it seemed to have a diminished effect on the bright purple spot where the sword had struck him. Cardin supposed it was a lingering effect from the sword, as the thing seemed like it damaged aura specifically.

Cardin shook his head and grabbed his shower supplies, choosing only to wrap a towel around his waist for covering. He briefly wondered about putting a few more clothes on before going to take a shower; but considering the lack of people remaining in the compound and how close his room was to the showers, Cardin decided to risk it. He was too tired to put more clothes on anyway.

In nothing more than his towel, Cardin opened the door to his room and glanced out into the hallway. Seeing no one coming, Cardin quickly left his room and darted over to the showers. Entering the nearest stall, Cardin took his time warming up the water and cleaning his body. All the caked-on dirt eventually came loose and washed down the drain, and Cardin exhaled with relief as he began to feel clean again.

After finishing his shower routine, Cardin stood under the hot water for a few more minutes just to relax. Finally having time to think, his thoughts drifted to the events that occurred earlier that day. Everything had gone well, all things considered. The councilman had been rescued alive and well, and no team members had suffered any lasting injuries. A perfect mission. So why did he feel like something was wrong?

Oh yeah, Velvet was also extremely pissed at him. Right.

Cardin shook his head. In the end, he understood why Velvet had been angry with him. If he had been in her shoes, he would have felt the exact same way. But he wasn't, and he would do it all again in a heartbeat if he had the chance.

Cardin was still thinking as he turned off the shower and dried himself off. He was so deep in thought that he did not bother to check to see if the hallway was clear or not before stepping out.

…

Velvet rehearsed what she was going to say as she strode down the hall toward Cardin's room.

"Ok," she mumbled to herself. "Just walk right up, knock on the door, and say—"

She was suddenly stopped short as she bumped into someone from behind. She had been so deep in thought that she had not noticed another person in the hallway.

"Oh, excuse me…" Velvet trailed off as she realized who she had just bumped into. She recognized that bright orange hair anywhere.

"Nah, it's my fault," Cardin said as he turned around. "I wasn't really paying—Velvet!"

Cardin took a half step backward in surprise as recognition came over his features.

Velvet quickly tried to remember what she had wanted to say, but her brain short-circuited when she realized that Cardin was standing naked in front of her with nothing but a towel to prevent him from completely exposing himself. The temperature in the hallway suddenly felt much warmer for some reason, and yet Velvet stood completely frozen, unable to tear her eyes away from his upper half. Oum, did the human body even have that many muscles?

Cardin did not seem to notice that he was less than presentable at the moment, and scratched the back of his head like he wanted to get something off of his massive, extremely broad, very toned chest…

"I uh…look," Cardin said looking at her. "I'm sorry for acting recklessly today. I know it ended up working out and all, but I guess I really didn't think about how it affected you. So, I guess the next time I want to go do something stupid, I'll try to give you a heads up, ok?"

"Uhhhhh…."

"Velvet?" Cardin finally caught wind of her dazed demeanor. "You feeling ok?"

Velvet was currently running her eyes down Cardin's abdominal muscles one by one. Her gaze was about to drift lower when Cardin finally caught wind of the situation. His reaction was to turn bright red and quickly turn away in embarrassment. In Velvet's current state, she was annoyed that he had broken her line of sight, but she forgot all about it when she saw that Cardin's back was just as chiseled as his front. Her gaze turned hazy again, but the charm was broken as she saw a massive bruise just under his left shoulder blade. She frowned, then instantly blushed as she too became aware of the position they were both in. She shook her head irritatedly and pushed her embarrassment aside. She had come here for a purpose, and by Oum she wasn't going to wait any longer.

"Cardin, whatever you have planned for tomorrow afternoon, cancel it," she ordered.

Cardin looked confusingly over his shoulder.

"Uh, what for?"

"Because I said so!"

Cardin lifted his eyebrows in response.

"Oh uh, ok then. Do I need to wear my armor or…?"

"No, wear your regular clothes."

"I…ok."

An awkward silence settled between the two of them, and Velvet realized that there was nothing she could do to try and salvage the dignity of the situation, so she turned on her heel and strode away purposefully, leaving a very confused and very naked Cardin behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Alright! Another one in the books! Please let me know if you have anything you'd like to see in the story as well as leave any tips to help me improve my writing. I'd like to think I'm only getting better, but I am certainly not the best judge of that. Until next time!
> 
> -ImpulsiveWeaver


	11. Chapter 11

Cardin awoke the next morning with lingering aches and pains all over his body. The numerous beatings he had received yesterday were deciding to remind him that they hadn't quite healed yet. Cardin groaned and activated his aura once more. The aches instantly soothed, but Cardin still felt the bruise on his back persist even through the healing process. Cardin sighed in defeat. He supposed that one would just have to heal manually.

Stepping out of bed and over to his closet, Cardin began the process of dawning his morning jogging clothes. Despite having gone on a mission the day before, Cardin was not about to take a day off. The bruises healing on his body proved just how far he had to go before he could consider himself a Huntsman, and he wasn't going to reach that title by taking days off.

After dressing himself and tying his shoes, Cardin exited his room and walked through the hallways and out into the beautiful summer morning. On the days that Velvet joined Cardin for his jog, she was usually out there waiting for him. She was not outside this morning, and Cardin remembered their awkward conversation the night before. Whatever she was planning for that afternoon, Cardin figured that she was off doing that instead of joining him today. Breathing in a hint of fresh air, Cardin smiled to himself and took off at his usual jogging pace.

Cardin didn't see anything extraordinary on his way to the park. Since he always ran at the same time of day, his scenery each morning was a near carbon-copy of the morning before. That never bothered Cardin though. He was content to enjoy the warm air as he continued along his path.

The park came into view, and as usual, it was mostly empty. Cardin saw perhaps the odd jogger along the numerous trails that wound through the massive area, but not much else. As he jogged in, Cardin glanced to the side and saw a small child playing with a ball. From what Cardin could see, the child was attempting to teach itself how to drop-kick the ball, but every time he kicked at it, it would fly up and behind him. Cardin chuckled at the antics and returned to his jog.

Cardin continued through the loop and was almost to the park exit when something struck him in the back of the head. The hit was light, and Cardin whirled around more in surprise than in anger. The same little ball that he had seen the kid with earlier bounced away from him for a few feet, then Cardin looked over to see the kid looking at him. His little eyes wide with fear.

With a start, Cardin recognized the kid as the one from a few weeks ago. It was the same fox-Faunus that Cardin had snapped at after he saved the little tyke from those bullies. Cardin recognized the pointed ears and bushy tail as well.

The child obviously remembered Cardin as well, as it froze in fear, unable to look away and yet not capable of running away at the same time. Cardin exhaled and slumped his shoulders in shame. If there was one downside to becoming a better person, it was feeling like absolute garbage every time you were reminded of your previous wrongdoings. Cardin knew there was nothing he could do to change what he had done now, but he supposed he might as well try to smooth things out with the kid.

Scooping up the ball with one hand, Cardin walked over to where the kid stood frozen in fear. As he approached, the child fell backwards, hugging his legs to his chest and wrapping his tail around himself protectively. Seeing him curled up like that, Cardin couldn't help but angry with himself. Had really seen this child as less than a living thing not less than a month ago? How could he have been so heartless? And now, thanks to Cardin's idiocy, this kid was trembling in fear as he walked toward him with a ball. Tears were already beginning to form at the corners of the child's eyes.

Cardin stopped a few feet away from the kid, who continued to tremble and stare at him with terror in his eyes. Placing the ball on the ground, Cardin rolled it gently across the grass. The ball rolled to a stop right next to the child, who looked at it warily and then turned back to Cardin. His eyes remained distrustful and afraid.

"T-thanks," he squeaked out. Cardin's chest hurt at the sound of the kid's voice. With a sigh, Cardin broke the silence.

"Look, kid. I, ah, I'm sorry for how mean I was to you that one time. I wasn't a very nice person back then, but I'm trying to be a better one now."

The child was obviously still scared of Cardin, but he slowly stood up, which Cardin took as a sign of progress. He tried smiling at the still timid youngster.

"So, what's your name, kid?"

The mumbled something that Cardin didn't quite catch. He put his hand behind his ear and leaned in to indicate that he hadn't quite heard.

"Rusty…" The child said, a bit louder this time. Cardin nodded in encouragement and put his hands on his hips.

"Rusty, that's a cool name. I like it."

Cardin looked around them and saw that they were now all alone in the park.

"How come you aren't out here playing with your friends, Rusty?"

The Faunus's ears drooped slightly.

"I don't have any friends."

"What? How come?"

"Everybody makes fun of my tail. They pull it at school sometimes. It really hurts."

Cardin felt bad for the kid. He knew a certain someone that he himself had treated in the exact same manner not so long ago. He knew how much it had hurt her when he pulled on her ears. Cardin shook his head and tried not to think about how uneasy he felt in his stomach.

"Why don't you fight back? Next time someone goes after your tail, just hit them with it."

The kid looked at Cardin strangely. Then shook his head.

"I'm just not strong enough, and there are more of them than there are of me. And I'm afraid of what they'll do if I don't do what they tell me too."

That thought hit hard to. A vivid memory of Cardin forcing Jaune Arc to do his homework and other various odd jobs for him flashed through his mind. All of a sudden, Cardin felt extremely disgusted with himself. How had he gotten away with what he did for so long without someone kicking the absolute shit out of him? Cardin was dumbfounded as he the weight of how much torment he had put people through came bearing down on him all at once. His actions had left scars on people that maybe would never heal, and not once had he ever considered the anguish he was inflicting during his time as a bully. Staring down at the child in front of him, Cardin realized that the person that would be the hardest to earn forgiveness from was himself. How could he after all he had done? Cardin shook his head and stared back down at the child.

"Kid, I'm going to tell you the truth. I used to be one of those bullies. I did things to people that hurt them because I thought I could get away with it. Nobody tried to stop me, and so I just kept doing it. You want to know what finally made me stop picking on people?"

The kid nodded his head.

"Somebody that I was bullying finally had enough. They got tired of me and kicked my butt. Not only did they beat me up, but they also saved my life from a Grimm right afterward. They showed me that if I ever tried to fight them again, then they would fight back. That's the last thing that bullies want to hear. Someone that fights back is not fun to pick on, so they will usually leave you alone after that. You get what I'm saying?"

The kid nodded again, but then frowned his eyes.

"But what if they don't stop? What if you fight back and lose? Won't they keep bullying me then?"

"If you win, I guarantee that they'll leave you alone. And even if you lose, the fact that you fought them should be enough. But if they don't, then come back here in one week. We'll talk about it then."

"You really think I can make them stop?"

Cardin smiled and nodded his head.

"Wow! Thank you, mister!" The Faunus yelled out. He rushed forward to hug Cardin but stopped himself and stared up at him hesitantly.

Cardin chuckled.

"Go ahead."

"Yay!" the kid said as he wrapped his arms around Cardin's leg. Cardin smiled again and patted the kid on the head before breaking off the embrace.

"Listen, kid, er, Rusty. I gotta go. I'll see you in one week, okay?"

"Okay!" Rusty said excitedly, waving to Cardin as the ginger-haired Huntsman turned and resumed jogging.

Cardin mulled over his recent encounter as he continued jogging. He was a long way from paying back all the damage he had caused others, but he had finally reached out to another besides Velvet. And to him, the fact that he was progressing made all the more difference. As Cardin jogged back to the compound, he failed to notice a lone figure watching him from the bushes…

…

When Cardin returned to his room, he fell right back into his routine of changing into his armor and grabbing his weapon for his morning training sessions.

When he reached the training grounds sometime later, Cardin saw that Velvet wasn't there either. Cardin wondered just what she was up to. What was it that she had to disappear in the morning to plan for that afternoon? As much as Cardin thought about it, he could not think of a possible answer.

'Whatever,' he thought. 'I'll probably find out soon enough.'

As Cardin began his training for the day, he had realized that for the past few months, he had not been starting his training sessions like he normally had. Since he had been training with Velvet, he had not been starting off his training sessions with an Ursa Major fight. Curious as to how he would fare after taking a break from it for so long, Cardin entered the nearest chamber. The holo-prompt appeared, requesting his input, and Cardin typed in the desired settings for the simulator.

**Time: Day**

**Location: Forever Fall**

**Grimm: Ursa Major**

**Amount: 1**

Cardin stepped back as the environment of the simulator changed into the setting that he had not seen in quite a long time. The familiar ambience of red leaves began to fall into existence as the world around him turned into the Forever Fall. Despite seeing this exact simulation numerous times before as well as actually being there in person a couple of times, Cardin realized that he had never stopped to appreciate just how beautiful the burning red of the trees and grass contrasted against the deep blue sky. It was like fire and water, yet instead of fighting for dominance, the two complimented each other and brought out a beauty that neither could achieve on their own. Cardin chuckled to himself. Since when did he become such a profound philosopher?

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Begin.**

Cardin steeled himself as the Ursa burst from the clearing with an all-too-familiar roar. Cardin instantly charged forward without hesitation to intercept the charging Grimm. The Ursa roared and moved to swipe at Cardin, but he was too fast for the enormous creature and blocked the massive claw with the hilt of his mace. A few weeks ago, Cardin would have staggered under the weight of the blow, but a lot had changed since then. Thanks to Cardin's newfound purpose in life as well as his confidence in his abilities, Cardin was now far stronger and faster than he had ever been before.

Without losing his momentum, Cardin spun around from his successful block and stepped closer to the exposed Ursa. As he came back around, Cardin gripped his mace tightly and swung upwards at the Grimm's exposed chin with his mace. Cardin followed through with the blow and danced back to strike again at the Grimm's exposed leg, but unbeknownst to him, the force behind his strike to the Grimm's chin had packed enough energy to tear the Ursa's head clean from its shoulders. The Grimm was dead before it hit the ground. Cardin's eyes widened in surprise.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 6.02 Seconds.**

Cardin's eyes widened even further. What had the computer just said? He checked the results on the holo-prompt to ensure that the system wasn't faulty, and sure enough, his time read clearly: 6.02 seconds.

Cardin couldn't believe it. Not only had he smashed through his individual goal of defeating the Ursa in under ten seconds, but he had very nearly cut his previous record in half. Had he really improved that much in such a short amount of time? In his mind, Cardin knew that he could attribute his newfound prowess to his size growth, which had previously stemmed from his increased confidence, and Cardin knew just who exactly was responsible for that. Cardin turned over his shoulder and examined the spectator seats to see if she was there, but Velvet was nowhere to be found. Cardin found himself to be distraught at her absence, as she was the one person that he wanted to share his record with. His shoulders slumped slightly, and Cardin was about to turn back to the holo-prompt when he heard a commotion coming from the next training chamber over. His curiosity getting the better of him, Cardin exited his own chamber and glanced inside the one containing the source of the noise.

Inside, fighting a small pack of Griffons, was none other than Arslan Altan. Cardin silently stepped inside the chamber as Arslan caught one of the flying Grimm with her rope dart. Pulling herself towards her prey with a surprising amount of speed, Cardin watched as she twisted midair and landed a solid kick to the side of the Grimm's head. The Griffon shrieked in pain, its head jerking to the side with a snap. Arslan had broken its neck.

The Griffon fell to the ground dead as Cardin silently took a seat in the spectator seats, watching Arslan with great interest. Without hesitation, Arslan quickly disposed of the remaining Griffons in a similar manner as she did the first one.

**Simulation Complete.**

**All Enemies Defeated.**

**Time: 45.73 Seconds.**

Arslan nodded to herself at her time, then turned to notice Cardin sitting in the spectator seats. She gave him a friendly nod before turning and walking over to him. As she approached, Cardin saw a clear sheen of sweat on her face as well as a slight tremble in her movements. He frowned slightly, quickly coming to the conclusion that Arslan had not completely healed from her injuries yet either. He decided that a proper greeting was in order before he addressed that, however.

"Morning, Arslan," Cardin said as nonchalantly as possible.

"Cardin," Arslan said with a nod, a respectful smile appearing on her face. "I can only assume you slept as well as I did after such an eventful mission."

Cardin chuckled and nodded.

"Like a damn rock," he replied, causing Arslan to laugh as she stretched.

Cardin laughed with her, but his face then fell into a semi-curious look.

"Have you had a chance to recover fully yet?"

Arslan looked over at him for a moment, and Cardin got the impression that she was trying to contemplate what the appropriate response to that question was.

"I wish I could say yes, but whatever that girl with the agony-inducing semblance did to me left a toll," Arslan said in a more serious tone. "I realize that it's only a day after we have returned, but I woke up this morning to small tremors in my body. I think it may be an after effect of her semblance."

Cardin nodded. "When that Kalin guy hit me with his sword, it shattered half of my aura with a single blow, left a nasty bruise too. Despite the bruise not being to painful, my aura cannot seem to repair it like it did my other bruises. I think it had something to do with his semblance as well."

Arslan seemed to mull over his words. Cardin waited a few moments before speaking again.

"I guess looking on the bright side, neither of our inflictions seem to be permanent, so they should be able to go away on their own."

"I think so too," Arslan said with a nod. "Besides, both of us are too tough to be brought down by something like that. After all, we lived to fight another day, didn't we?"

"Yes, we sure did," Cardin smiled again. "Even if we did end up carrying the whole team." This earned a light chuckle from Arslan. Looking up at her, Cardin considered the fact that Arslan, in addition to Neptune, was the first friend that Cardin had made since his decision to become a better person. Cardin had earned her respect, and she in turn had earned his, and now they had built a relationship not upon mutual hate or loathing, but on mutual trust and comradery. And that fact alone made Cardin suddenly feel very prideful in himself.

"You know," Cardin said as he stood up from his seat. "I saw some of those fancy moves you pulled on those Griffons back there. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two about staying mobile in a fight. Or at least…" Cardin gestured to his bulky armor. "…as mobile as one can hope to get."

Arslan laughed at his humor, placing her hands on her hips.

"I could probably give you a few pointers, but in return maybe you can show me a few things about delivering a powerful blow."

Cardin jumped at the opportunity and extended his hand.

"You gotta deal there, Altan."

Arslan smirked and shook his hand warmly.

"Excellent."

Over the next few hours, Cardin and Arslan trained in the simulator. The two of them bounced ideas of each other, and with the help of a few sparring matches, both of them offered pointers to the other on how to improve their fighting style. Cardin couldn't help but grow more and more excited as their training went on. Apart from training with Velvet, he had never had anyone help him with his fighting style before, as he had learned to use his mace practically on his own and didn't really have any good sparring partners during his time at Beacon. His teammates were all skilled in their own right, but their team dynamic had not been the type to foster helpfulness among themselves. It had been more of a live and let live mentality, with each team member keeping to themselves about their fighting style and not offering assistance to others. If Cardin remembered correctly, Dove had once offered to help him with his mace grip, but Cardin had coldly shut him down. Back then, he had assumed that Dove was trying to insult him, but he now realized that his teammate had only been trying to help. Cardin inwardly kicked himself for being such a prick.

Glancing at the clock, Cardin realized with a start that he had lost track of time, and that lunch at the compound was almost over.

"Oh crap! I gotta go," he yelled. "I'm sorry to cut this off early, but I'm going to miss lunch if I don't hurry."

Arslan nodded in understanding. "No problem, Cardin. I still have some simulator training left to do."

"Thanks again for the help!" Cardin yelled over his shoulder as he turned and sprinted from the chamber.

Arslan smirked as he left, then turned back to the simulator and accessed the holo-prompt.

…

Cardin showered in a flash and rushed into the cafeteria. Glancing at his scroll, Cardin saw that he had made it with just five minutes to spare before the line closed. Exhaling in relief, Cardin quickly grabbed a tray and loaded it up with food, content to relax and think about what he had learned from Arslan in the simulator. Arslan was exceptional at hand-to-hand combat, but Cardin had known that ever since he saw her hold her own against Yang Xiao Long in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Her impressive agility coupled with the strength provided by her semblance gave her virtually no weak points. Looking back, Cardin realized that the only reason that Arslan hadn't made it all the way to the final round of the tournament was because her team had held her back. Against any of the members of Team RWBY in a one-on-one scenario back then, Cardin was sure that Arslan would have emerged victorious.

It was only thanks to Cardin's intense training that he had undergone since the Battle of Beacon combined with his newfound strength and speed from his semblance that he could keep up with her. And even with all that going for him, Arslan still had Cardin on the defensive throughout all of their sparring matches. Since Arslan was still faster than him, Cardin had had to use the superior range that his mace offered to keep her at bay. That had worked for most of the matches, but more often than not, Arslan had been able to breach his defenses and land a few solid blows on him. Getting hit with her semblance was not fun, but Cardin had been able to land a few hits of his own too. One advantage that his mace did offer apart from superior range was that there was no such thing as a weak hit with his mace. Even if Cardin grazed his opponent, it still packed enough force to do considerable damage to his opponent. Arslan had no doubt become aware of this the first time that Cardin had landed a hit, and he noticed that she had attacked with a bit more wariness than before.

No matter how their sparring matches turned out, Cardin was more focused on the advice that Arslan had given him about staying mobile and improving agility. That was always one of Cardin's more overt weak points, but with Arslan's help, Cardin couldn't help but feel lighter on his feet at the end of their training session. Given time, Cardin wondered if he could compensate for or perhaps even eliminate that weakness from his fighting style…

Cardin was interrupted by a patient buzz coming from his scroll. Setting his fork down, Cardin checked the device and saw that he had a new message from Velvet.

**_Meet me outside the compound after lunch. 1:30. Don't be late._ **

Cardin frowned at the message. He supposed it was finally time to figure out exactly what Velvet had planned for him today.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *sigh* Well, it finally happened. Kerry and Miles swung the canon sword and completely cleaved in two any possibility of this story being close to canon. As soon as I heard that "After the Fall" was coming out, I felt an extreme mixture of excitement and dread at its appearance. On one hand, new RWBY content! On the other, the excruciating death of any possibility of this fic's credibility. For those of you that aren't familiar, I personally try to keep my stories as close to canon as possible. That way my readers and myself can easily imagine it actually taking place in the original story. After I read the book, however, I was pleased to see that it actually is very close to the ending that I had selected for this story, so things worked out ok! The events still don't line up properly, but it is definitely much better off than it could have been. Anyhow, please enjoy this next chapter! Sorry again for the long wait. Remember that I own nothing!

Velvet waited outside the compound for Cardin, mentally running through her checklist to make sure everything was going according to plan. Her strategy was very simple. The events of today would be a fun afternoon at the bowling alley followed by a nice dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. Velvet planned to treat Cardin to a nice day out, and at some point, during the day, she planned to express her gratitude for all that he had done for her. Apart from saving her during their mission, he had also taken strides to improve himself as a person, moving away from his racist ways and more towards compassion. Velvet planned to address just how impressed she was with him. And at the end of it all, she planned to formally forgive Cardin of the way he had treated her before. Velvet had thought hard lately about whether or not he was ready, but he had removed all doubts by his actions over the past few days. Goodwitch was right. Cardin deserved this.

Velvet turned her head as she heard the front doors of the compound open. Cardin stepped out and met her gaze before giving a tentative wave. Velvet internally frowned at his wariness. He must have still been a little unsure about her after her abrasiveness yesterday. The first thing she needed to do was put him at ease. She put on her best smile but made sure not to overdo it.

"Hey Cardin!" she said, giving him a little wave.

"Hey Velvet…" Cardin said, eyes still searching her form for any signs of hostility.

"All set to go?" Velvet said cheerily, letting her smile fall into a slight grin.

"Yep, just my regular clothes, right?" Cardin said, finally dropping his guard a little bit and smiling back. Velvet was glad to see it.

Success.

"Great! Then let's go," Velvet said, motioning for Cardin to follow her as she started down the sidewalk. Cardin took a few strides to catch up to her, and soon they were walking side by side down the street.

"So where are we going?" Cardin asked.

"You'll see."

…

Velvet marveled at how well Cardin could bowl. Using a ball that was twice the weight of hers, Cardin had managed to score fairly well in the first game, and he was now dominating in the second game.

"Wow, Cardin. I guess working out has its perks, huh?"

"Actually, I've been using balls of this weight since I was a kid," Cardin said with a chuckle. "I could probably go to a higher weight, but I'm just not as comfortable with them."

Velvet's jaw dropped.

"What? Seriously?"

Cardin laughed sheepishly. "Yeah."

Velvet shook her head.

"You know what, I think you're just a little to strong. Maybe you need to ease off the weights a little bit."

"What? And miss one of the few chances I have to show off?" Cardin said jokingly. He struck a pose, flexing his muscles as he did so. Even through his shirt, Velvet could see them bulge, and it suddenly grew a little warmer in the bowling alley. She shook her head when she realized it was her turn to bowl.

Standing up, Velvet strode past Cardin and grabbed her ball from the return. She lined herself up, focusing only on the pins, took three steps forward, planted her foot, and released. It would have been an excellent bowl, but her foot slipped on a wet spot on the floor, and the ball shot off to the side and went into the gutter.

Velvet felt her face grow a bit red at the embarrassing display, but she stiffened completely as her sensitive ears heard a few snickers from the next bowling lane over. A group of young teenagers sat there, none of them much younger than Velvet and Cardin's age. The group was snickering to themselves at Velvet's gutter ball, and among the snorts, Velvet could hear a few mumbles about her ears too. She shook her head and was fully prepared to ignore the jibes when she saw Cardin out of the corner of her eye. His fists were clenched at his sides, and Velvet's eyes widened as she realized that he must have heard them too. Velvet had assumed that the voices had been soft enough so that only she could hear, but Cardin had been sitting closer to them, and by his posture, Velvet could tell that he was going to make a scene if she didn't do something.

Velvet cleared her throat at Cardin, which was enough to cause him to look over at her. She shook her head slowly, and Cardin frowned in response. His hands clenched even tighter for a moment, but then relaxed as Cardin exhaled deeply. Velvet gave him a smile and an encouraging nod, and that seemed to calm him down completely. Cardin took another deep breath, then smiled and nodded back at her.

Velvet smiled even brighter, then lined up her next shot. This time, her form had been perfect, and she knocked all of the pins down, picking up the spare. Velvet hoped that her show of skill would dissuade any further mumbles from the next lane over, but as she turned to go sit back down, her ears picked up a faint voice.

"Well, you know what they say about rabbit's feet being lucky…"

This time, Velvet did not have time to react before Cardin stood up from his seat and stomped over to the group laughing and whispering in the next lane over. Velvet tried to move to stop him, but what happened next completely caught her off guard.

"Excuse me," Cardin said, causing the members of the group to look up at him in surprise. None of them said anything, so Cardin continued.

"My friend and I are trying to have a good time, and we would appreciate it if you would please keep your comments to yourselves."

Cardin had kept his voice even while he spoke, but there existed an underlying tone to it that suggested to the group that they shouldn't mess with him.

"Sorry…" one of the group members mumbled, turning his head away from Cardin. The other members suddenly looked either to the side or down to the floor, no doubt feeling embarrassed at being called out like that.

"Thank you," Cardin said before turning on his heel and striding back to where Velvet stood dumbfounded. He gave her a small smile as he approached.

"So, is it my turn then?" Cardin said nonchalantly, as though nothing had occurred just now.

"Oh my gosh, Cardin!" Velvet finally breathed. "I was worried I'd have to pull you off of them."

"What? Them?" Cardin said, gesturing with his head to the embarrassed teens one lane over. "Nah, figured I'd try my luck with words this time around. Seems like it turned out alright."

Velvet shook her head. Was this really the same Cardin that had laughed as he pulled her years not even a year ago. The man standing before her now was much more mature, and Velvet felt her cheeks grow slightly pink again at Cardin's amazing transformation. He was so much different now. So much more than he had been.

"Hey guys, what's with the long faces? I go to the bathroom for one second, and the next thing I know you're all doom and gloom!"

Velvet turned with Cardin to see that one more member had joined the party, and he was the biggest of them all. He walked with an air of selfish pride as he pulled up to his own group, and Velvet felt a sinking in her stomach as she realized that this had no chance of ending well.

"What, you guys nervous around the freak?"

Oh no.

"Hey," Cardin said forcefully, taking a few steps forward. The big lug's mouth split into a smile, as this was obviously the reaction he desired. Velvet desperately put her hand on Cardin's arm in an attempt to stop him, but Cardin flashed her a smile that told her to trust him. Velvet frowned, but reluctantly put her hand down.

The leader of the group stepped forward to meet him.

"What? You got something to say to me, tough guy?"

"Yes. I'd ask you not to call my friend a freak. It's rude," Cardin said, his tone level but serious.

Velvet watched apprehensively from behind Cardin. There was no doubt in her mind that Cardin could beat this guy in a fight, but that wasn't what concerned her. Depending on whether or not this guy was an aura user, Cardin might accidentally hurt the bully if it came to blows. Even more so, the Vale Police Department did not care much for fighting inside an establishment, and that meant that whether or not Cardin threw the first punch, he was likely to end up behind bars.

"What? Trying to protect your little pet?" the leader snarled, stepping forward until he was right in Cardin's face. Cardin stood only an inch or two taller than his adversary, and Velvet expected him to explode at any second and throw a punch at the bully. But instead, she watched in awe as Cardin closed his eyes momentarily. He seemed to be concentrating.

To the surprise of both Velvet and the group of bullies, Cardin began to grow before their very eyes. Slowly, his body stretched and widened, adding almost an extra foot to his already impressive height and packing on extra-large muscles onto his already generous bulk.

As his growth slowed to a stop, Cardin opened his eyes and stared down at the leader, whose eyes were now level with Cardin's shoulders.

"I'm giving you a chance here," Cardin said, portraying no fear or hesitation. "Back off now, and your friends won't have to carry you to the nearest hospital."

The bully seemed to be at a loss for words. Cardin's threat had obviously rattled him, and Velvet saw him attempt to muster what was left of his waning courage.

"You think you can take all of us?" the leader asked. The leader's tone suggested that even he didn't know the answer.

"I won't have to fight them," Cardin replied coolly gesturing to the group. "The only person looking for a fight is you, and when you go down, no one is going to take your place."

The bully glanced back at his group to see that they were all shrinking back apprehensively. Cardin was right. As soon as the leader fell, the rest of them would scatter. He took one more look at Cardin's massive bulk, then growled deeply.

"Come on guys, let's go!" he snarled before turning on his heel and stomping out of the bowling alley. The rest of his group hurried to follow, more worried about being left behind with Cardin than keeping up with their leader.

As soon as they had left, Velvet saw Cardin exhale deeply. Slowly, his body began to shrink back to its normal size, and Cardin shook his head as his appearance changed from that of a giant to just a really tall man. He turned and gave Velvet a lopsided smile.

"Whew, that was close. I wasn't sure how much longer I would have been able to hold that height."

Velvet was speechless. She almost couldn't fathom how Cardin Winchester of all people had won a fight against a group of bullies without throwing a single punch. It was the most amazing feat she had ever seen.

"Cardin… wha-? Where did that come from?" Velvet managed to stammer out.

"Well, that guy really reminded me of me from back when… you know..." Cardin's attitude suddenly took a very somber turn, and his shoulders and head drooped as he continued.

"He was just looking for a fight that he thought he could win. I figured he didn't have any combat experience, so he was just going to rely on brute force. He figured I'd just be easy pickings, but when I bulked up, he realized that brute force wasn't a viable strategy any more. That was really lucky for us because if he had known how to fight at all, it would have likely come to blows."

Velvet shook her head, suddenly angry with herself for choosing this bowling alley. This day out was supposed to be her reward to Cardin, but so far, all that had happened was a confrontation with bullies, which was something nobody liked to do in their free time. And now to top it off, Cardin was depressed because of it. Velvet glanced at her scroll and saw that it was getting to be dinner time, so she walked up to Cardin, hoping that a little bit of food would change his mind.

"Come on Cardin," she said. "Let's go get something to eat."

Cardin nodded, and Velvet was happy to see that he seemed to regain some of his happiness at her words.

…

Velvet laughed at a joke Cardin had told. For dinner, Velvet had chosen a nice family restaurant where they could sit down and unwind for a while. Cardin had easily taken the kind atmosphere of the restaurant in stride, and soon the events from earlier had been completely forgotten. The two of them continued to have a good time as the sun went down, and after a quick glance out the window, Velvet decided that it was finally time to give Cardin her thanks.

"Hey Cardin. I uh…"

Cardin's smile fell ever so slightly at the sudden seriousness from Velvet.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

Cardin looked confused.

"Thank me? For what? You're the one that insisted to pay for dinner. I should be thanking you," he chuckled.

"No, I just—"

Velvet's ears suddenly twitched as she heard an explosion from nearby. Cardin heard it too, and he turned his head towards the direction of the noise. They both shared a glance, then quickly rushed from the restaurant, leaving some lien on the table to cover the meal. Velvet grit her teeth as the two of them ran toward the noise. First the bowling alley, and now this? This whole day out was turning into a nightmare. This had to be the worst thank you Velvet had ever attempted to give, hands down.

The two of them rounded the corner, and Velvet's eyes widened as she saw where the explosion had come from.

It had been a dust store. One that Velvet was quite familiar with: From Dust Till Dawn. The shop had been quite a popular stop for the students of Beacon before it fell, at this moment, it was currently engulfed in flames. Velvet couldn't know for certain, but one could accurately guess that there had been a fire dust explosion, and when fire dust exploded, things did not end well.

The two of them ran to the shop just as an old man stumbled out of the front door, sputtering and coughing. Velvet immediately recognized him as the owner and quickly caught him before he could stumble any further.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Velvet asked.

"I… there was an explosion. There's still a few inside…" the old man managed to choke out before having another coughing fit.

Cardin immediately snapped his head back to the shop.

"Velvet, make sure he's safe. I'm going to get the others."

Velvet immediately threw herself in front of him.

"Oh no you aren't, Cardin. You stay here. I'm going in there."

"Look, we don't have time to argue about this…"

"You're right. We don't"

Before Cardin could say anything else, Velvet activated her aura and bounded into the flaming dust store.

…

"Damn it, Velvet!" Cardin yelled as she ran inside. He made to follow her in, but the old shop keeper next to him began to cough again, and Cardin instinctively knelt down to assist. Cardin helped the man get into a sitting position, then looked around wildly. A few bystanders stood by, shocked at the flaming dust store. Some had already pulled out their scrolls and were calling for help, while others stood dumbfounded.

"Does anyone have any water?" Cardin called out, causing some people to look in his direction. Some still seemed to be in shock at the scene, so Cardin called out again.

"Water? Please?"

This shook some people from their stupor, and Cardin gratefully accepted a bottle from one of the bystanders. He supported the old man's back and handed him the bottle, which the shop keeper gratefully took in his hands.

"Slow sips, alright?" Cardin said. The man nodded.

"Are you going to be ok?"

The man nodded again, so Cardin got to his feet. He turned to the bystander that had given him the water.

"Watch over him. I'm going in there."

The bystander wordlessly nodded, but before Cardin could charge into the store. Three figures emerged from the smoke clouding the front entrance.

Cardin's chest flooded with relief at the realization that it was Velvet, and she was supporting two other adults with her shoulders.

Cardin ran forward and immediately took one of the adults from her, and she smiled in gratitude.

"Damn it, Velvet! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Cardin said angrily.

"Consider it payback for the whole cave thing," Velvet said breathlessly. She laughed slightly at her joke, but Cardin didn't think it was very funny.

The Vale Fire Department arrived shortly after and took control of the situation. Velvet and Cardin were checked for any minor injuries, but they were released shortly afterward. The sun had gone down, and at Cardin's suggestion, the two of them proceeded to take a walk on the pier.

…

Velvet inwardly fumed as they walked. The day had turned into a total disaster. Not only had Velvet's plan been ruined in every way imaginable, but she also was covered in soot from the burning building. At every opportunity, Velvet's attempts to thank Cardin and congratulate him on how much he improved had been crushed. It was as though the universe was against her, trying at every turn to thwart her efforts.

No more.

Velvet abruptly stopped right there on the pier. She was putting her foot down.

Cardin turned around and looked at her questioningly.

"You ok?"

"Cardin, I've been trying to tell you this all day, but something stupid has come up every single time I've tried. So now, I'm just going to say it, and nothing is going to stop me."

Cardin raised his eyebrow at her but remained silent, which Velvet was exceedingly thankful for.

"Cardin Winchester, thank you for saving my life yesterday. If it weren't for you, I would be dead, so thank you for that."

"Look, I still feel like I should apo—"

"Shut up, Cardin."

He wisely did so.

"I wanted to thank you for that, but I also wanted to thank you for striving to be a better person. I know that you've been making strides to renounce your old ways, and you've proven to me that you were capable of changing. So, Cardin, I am also here to forgive you for what you've done in the past. This is me, telling you that I forgive you. For everything."

Oum, did that feel good to finally say it. Velvet felt the weight lift from her shoulders as she made eye contact with Cardin, only to feel it crashing back down on her when she saw his expression.

Cardin's face was distraught, or what could be considered distraught to the maximum. His gaze fell to the ground, and Velvet immediately worried that she had accidentally insulted him.

"Please don't do that," he mumbled.

Velvet was confused. "What?"

"Please don't forgive me," Cardin said, meeting Velvet's eye again. His voice trembled, and Velvet was shocked by his sudden change of emotion. She had never seen him this upset before, and the sight of it broke her heart.

"What? Why? You've done so mu-?"

"No, I haven't," Cardin said forcefully, his eyes filling with anger. His fists clenched at his sides, and Velvet took a half-step back in shock.

"I don't deserve to be forgiven, Velvet. Not now, and probably not ever."

His voice shook with emotion.

"What I've done, the people I've hurt… That stays with them forever, and I never even considered it. I ruined your life, Velvet! How can you ever say that you forgive me?!"

Cardin was borderline shouting now, but his anger was directed only at himself.

"Cardin."

Cardin turned to look at her. His eyes were red, but hers remained calm despite the aching she felt when she saw him in pain. Had this been bothering him from the start? How long had he been carrying this burden with him?

Yes, it was true. Cardin had been a monster in the past.

Yes, he had deserved to pay for it. But after all that he had done these past few weeks? After everything he'd put himself through for her? Velvet would say that he had done more than enough to repay his debt.

"It's ok," she said soothingly.

"No. No, it's not."

"Cardin, life is about learning lessons and moving on."

Cardin shook his head.

"I can't just do that, Velvet. The people that I've hurt… they may never move on. How can I live with that?"

Velvet reached out and took his hands in hers, Cardin stared for a moment, then looked at her again.

"I've forgiven you, Cardin. That little boy from the park? He's forgiven you too."

Cardin's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't known that she'd been watching him. Velvet gave him a knowing smile.

"You… You saw that, huh?"

Velvet nodded.

"They only person stuck in the past is you, Cardin. You're the only one left."

He looked at her, and she gave him a smile, telling him that it was ok. But there was still turmoil in his eyes. He didn't fully believe her. So, she stood on her tiptoes and showed him her conviction.

…

Cardin's eyes widened in shock as Velvet pressed her lips against his. His mind could not comprehend what was happening to him, and he didn't know how to respond. How could she do this? How could she forgive him so easily? A million questions formed in his head while his mind attempted to rationalize the situation.

Any yet, despite all of that, for some reason he could only focus on how soft her lips were. They were so soft and gentle, and it reminded him of a certain fabric. Try as he might, the name escaped him…

…

Velvet felt her heart flutter as he finally responded. She had initially dreaded that she had overstepped her boundaries, that he didn't feel the same way. But when he tilted his head down to deepen the kiss, she felt unbridled joy. She eagerly reached up and circled her arms around his neck, and he responded by supporting her around her waist. He lifted her to him, and she eagerly molded herself to his body. Oum, he was so strong. And yet, he was so gentle with her. It was like she was made of glass, and one false move would shatter her. She smiled as she kissed him with renewed vigor. Not wanting to be outdone, he responded accordingly.

…

Cardin wondered how he had ever been so lucky. He had finally achieved some sense of peace ever since he'd changed as a person. The anger at himself slowly began to dissolve as Velvet showed her affection, making him feel lighter than he ever had before. With a start, he realized that he was growing again, making it more difficult for Velvet to reach up to him.

In one swift move, Cardin scooped Velvet up into his arms. She giggled and nestled into him as he carried her bridal-style back down the pier and back to the compound. Her ears tickled his nose as he walked, and he smiled. Oum, did he love those ears of hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Awwwww! You don't know how long I've been waiting to write this chapter for. The big romantic reveal is always a highlight for me when I write, and this particular pairing has had me entranced from the start of RWBY. So you can probably imagine how good it feels to finally write it! Sorry again for the long wait. Universal Doom has been eating up much of my writing time, so I finally had a chance to get back to this. Until next time!
> 
> -ImpulsiveWeaver


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok! Slight spoilers ahead for 'After the Fall'. They're not really that huge, but one of them tells was Fox's semblance is, so I don't want to ruin it for anyone who doesn't know yet. Either way, welcome back to another of Learning to Fly! I know I know, less talking, more reading. Remember that none of this is mine, and enjoy!

The next couple of weeks were the happiest days that Cardin had ever experienced. In a glorious and almost divine way, being with Velvet flooded his entire being with a sense of completion that he had never felt before. Every time he saw her smile, it melted away all of his fears and insecurities.

She had forgiven him despite all that he had done to her, and that alone was sufficient, but it paled in comparison to the way that she had helped Cardin forgive himself. He knew that his path of retribution was far from over, but for the first time in a long time, he felt like he was moving in the right direction.

From then on, the two of them did almost everything together. It was obvious that Velvet loved spending time with Cardin as much he loved spending time with her, so when the two of them were together, they brought out each other's best.

One morning when the two of them had gone on a jog together, Cardin ran into Rusty again.

They spotted the kid when they entered the park that morning, and Cardin had waved to him as they arrived. The young fox Faunus turned into a little bundle of excitement when he saw Cardin and rushed over to the couple with a big smile on his face.

"It worked!" the youngster said, wrapping his arms around Cardin's leg when he got to him.

"Someone tried to grab my tail at school, but I slapped them with it when they did! I got in trouble with the teacher, but after that, everybody left me alone! Thank you, mister!"

Cardin chuckled and ruffled the kid's hair. He glanced sideways to see Velvet looking at the two of them fondly. She was wearing a small smile that Cardin had grown so fond of over the past few weeks, and it was always that smile that told him that everything was going to be okay.

"Glad to hear it, buddy," Cardin said, tilting his head down to look at Rusty. "And my name is Cardin. 'Mister' makes me feel like an old man."

Rusty beamed up at him from his leg, then turned his head and noticed Velvet for the first time. He frowned in confusion and slowly let go of Cardin's leg.

"Rusty, this is Velvet," Cardin said gesturing to her. "She is my—"

"I'm his girlfriend," Velvet said with a small laugh, holding her hand out to the child. Rusty seemed hesitant for a second, but when he saw Velvet's ears and her smiling face, rushed forward and gave her a hug as well.

"Were you the one that kicked Mr. Cardin's butt to make him stop being mean to you?" he asked innocently. This earned a laugh from Velvet.

"No," she said. "I'm afraid I did not have the satisfaction."

Cardin smiled and rolled his eyes.

The two of them talked with Rusty for a while, then continued on with their jog. When they returned back to the compound, Velvet turned to her new boyfriend.

"You know, you're not half bad with kids, Cardin."

Cardin laughed.

"I'd rather not test that. That kid's parents are probably worn out all the time from trying to wrangle him."

This earned another laugh from Velvet, which Cardin always appreciated.

…

One Month Later…

…

Cardin sighed and shook his head. A few days ago, the rest of Team CFVY had suddenly arrived in Vale. At first, Cardin had been glad to hear it. He looked forward to properly introduce himself to the rest of Velvet's team and apologize for his behavior back at Beacon.

All things considered; introductions went fairly well. Despite the initial friction, friction being that Velvet had to stand in front of Cardin so that Yatsuhashi wouldn't strangle him on sight, the team had slowly opened up to Cardin, and they even accepted his apology after they saw how much he had changed. All in all, Cardin was a bit surprised that they had let him off the hook so easily. He assumed that they all would have rejected him, and that he would have to prove himself all over again, but instead, he got off easy although Coco threatened to break his legs if he ever hurt Velvet again. Cardin could tell that she was serious.

The happy reunion quickly took a somber turn when he remembered why the rest of Team CFVY was there. Velvet had told a few weeks ago that she had finally been able to get in touch with her team, and the four of them had come to the decision that they wanted to complete their education and become licensed Huntsmen. To do that, they had decided that they were going to finish their studies at Shade Academy.

It was then that Cardin realized why she had been so melancholic. Shade was in Vacuo, which was another continent away. Velvet was telling him that she was leaving.

Cardin was happy for her, but at the same time, he knew that they likely would not see each other again for a long time. Cardin's chest ached at the thought, but he supported Velvet's decision. After they had come so close to graduating from Beacon, it made sense that she and the rest of her team finished what they had started.

After Velvet had shared the news with him, Cardin was determined to make the most out of the time they had left. The two of them became nearly inseparable, and Cardin held on to every memory he made with a newfound vigor.

Despite Cardin's best efforts, the day she left came all too soon. And now, she stood across from him just outside of the compound. The rest of Team CFVY stood a short distance away, giving them a moment to say goodbye.

"Well," Cardin said wistfully. "I guess this is it."

Velvet nodded, and Cardin saw from her face that she was having trouble keeping her composure. Wordlessly, he reached out and took her into his arms. She reciprocated in full and clung to him like a lifeline. Cardin could hear her erratic breathing into his chest as her walls crumbled and the tears began to form. Neither of them said a word, content just to hold each other for hopefully not the last time.

After a minute, her lips found his, and they kissed for a short moment before Cardin reluctantly released her. She held on to his arms with a tight grip and shook her head. She didn't meet his eye.

"Thank you, Cardin. Thank you for everything," she said. Her voice cracked.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Cardin said. At his words, she looked up.

"If you hadn't taken my picture, I might have never truly gotten to know you. And I would have never had the chance to be more than just… well… what I was."

She said nothing.

"You saved me, Velvet. You pulled me from the dark."

She shook her head, more tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She made to lower her gaze again, but Cardin took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.

"You're my hero, Velvet. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. You are my hero."

Velvet grabbed his arms and pulled herself to him again, fresh tears forming, and Cardin held her tight, never wanting to let go.

After another minute, Cardin glanced over to see Coco looking at them, her hand on her hip. Cardin slowly released her.

"I think your team is getting antsy, Velvet. It's time."

Velvet reluctantly let him go.

"Just do me a favor, ok?" Cardin added. "Don't say goodbye. If you don't say goodbye, then you aren't really gone. You just aren't here right now."

"You've been reading my books," Velvet managed to chuckle.

"Yeah."

A moment of silence passed, then Velvet stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Cardin's cheek. Then she took a few steps back and gave him that smile that he loved so much.

"Never say goodbye, Cardin Winchester."

"Never say goodbye, Velvet Scarlatina."

And then, she turned and left. Cardin watched her all the way as she joined her team. Coco and Yatsuhashi gave Cardin a nod, then turned and began walking away.

'Take care of her guys,' Cardin thought to himself.

"We will. Thanks for keeping her safe, Cardin."

Cardin jumped. That voice had just spoken in his head, but it wasn't his. He looked around wildly, then noticed that Fox was looking at him over his shoulder as he walked away.

"It's just me," came the voice again, and Cardin realized with a start that Fox was talking to him telepathically.

"Oh," Cardin sent back. "Cool."

"See you around man," Fox sent back.

Team CFVY rounded the corner and disappeared. And in the blink of an eye, Cardin was on his own again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, kind of sad isn't it? After all that, just to be left behind again. Poor Cardin. Anyhow, please do make sure to drop a review to remind me how awesome/sucky of a writer I am. I appreciate all criticism! Until next time!
> 
> -ImpulsiveWeaver


	14. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, here we are ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the final installment of 'Learning to Fly'. It's hard to believe that it's almost been a year and a half since I first started writing this story. I never would have guessed that it would have gotten this far. When I started the story, I wasn't really sure how far I wanted to go with it, but next thing I knew, I was writing paragraph after paragraph of ideas, and the story just took off. But enough reminiscing for now. Please enjoy the chapter! Remember that I own nothing.

Cardin walked slowly down the path. He was wearing his armor, and he held his mace at his side non-threateningly. The last thing he needed was to spook the person he was trying to see, and a wasted trip to Patch was not on Cardin's to-do list.

Shortly after Velvet had left with her team, Cardin had realized that despite the peace that he had found from Velvet and within himself, he was not done making reparations. There was still one more person whose forgiveness he needed, and that person was Jaune Arc.

Knowing ol' Jauney Boy, Cardin figured that he was probably with his team. Given Jaune's loyalty to them, Cardin figured they were probably out there right now doing some heroic deed or another, which was the second reason that Cardin wanted to find him.

When Velvet left, Cardin realized that it was time for him to move on as well. He couldn't call himself a Huntsman if he didn't help people, and for that reason, Cardin knew he had to do something. In finding Jaune, Cardin figured he could kill two birds with one stone. He could apologize for his wrong-doings in the past by helping Jaune now.

The only flaw in Cardin's plan was that he had absolutely no idea where he could find his blonde former classmate. In all the time Cardin had spent bullying Jaune, he had never bothered to learn where he was from. That irked Cardin greatly, so he figured he would have to find the next best thing.

…

"Well, well, well! If it isn't young Mr. Winchester! I am certainly thankful to see that you are alive and well! Wouldn't you say so, Barty?"

"Indeed, Peter. Indeed. It is certainly a stupendous spectacle to see you Mr. Winchester. Tell me, how have you been faring?"

"I've uh, been doing well, Professor. I'm actually here to ask for your help with something."

"My dear boy, confess to us your strife. We will certainly attempt to help in any way we can."

"I'm actually looking for someone. Jaune Arc. I'm afraid he never told me where he went after Beacon fell. I'm hoping to find him."

"Mr. Arc, you say? If my historical mind recalls correctly, you and Mr. Arc were never on good terms. I certainly hope your intentions are honest, Mr. Winchester…"

"Come now, Barty. Let's hear the young man explain himself first. We don't want to jump to conclusions. Please tell us why you wish to find Mr. Arc, Mr. Winchester."

"Well, you're right professor. I was not a very good person to Jaune during our time together at Beacon, and that is exactly why I want to find him. I've been trying to rise above who I was, and I want to apologize to him for the way I acted."

"A noble cause indeed! It seems what Glynda told us was true! I must say, it is certainly superb to see that you've grown as a person, Mr. Winchester. That is to say, both physically and metaphorically! I don't believe I remember you being so tall in my classes."

"Indeed! Why I'd certainly say that you've grown at an astounding rate since your time at Beacon! But to business, you wished to inquire about the whereabouts of Jaune Arc."

"Yes professor."

"Well, I'm afraid we do not know where he currently is, but we do know that he is currently traveling with the remainder of his team as well as Ms. Ruby Rose."

"Traveling? Where?"

"We do not know. I am afraid that is all we know of the situation, but we do know someone who may be able to answer the questions that we cannot..."

…

Cardin's flashback was interrupted as a house came into view. The house itself was a log cabin, but it was certainly quite large as far as cabins went. There was a small garden out front, and as Cardin drew closer, he saw a man with bright blonde hair working in the dirt. The man looked up as Cardin arrived, and upon seeing his face, Cardin was instantly reminded of Ruby's older sister, Yang. Cardin supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, considering who this man was supposed to be.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, standing up from his work. He frowned at Cardin's mace, so Cardin set it down next to him. He was only here to talk.

"I'm looking for a Mr. Taiyang Xiao Long. Is that you, sir?"

"And just who is asking?" the man said warily.

"My name is Cardin Winchester. I was in the same class as Taiyang's two daughters back at Beacon. Professor Port and professor Oobleck told me I could find him here."

The man visibly relaxed at the mention of Port and Oobleck, and Cardin saw a small smile appear on the man's face.

"Well, if Peter and Barty sent you, then I guess you can't be all that bad," he said. He approached Cardin, wiping his hands off with a rag as he did so.

"Taiyang Xiao Long, nice to meet you, Cardin."

Cardin shook Taiyang's hand with his own. He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and was readily relieved that Taiyang had lowered his guard.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"You can drop that 'sir' stuff, buddy. I'm not that old yet."

"Oh, sorry," Cardin said.

"I'm just playing with you," Taiyang said with a wave of his hand. "But let me ask you, what brings you all the way out here to see me? I don't often get visitors out here."

"I was kind of hoping you could help me. I'm…I'm wondering if you know where Ruby is."

Taiyang's face instantly darkened.

"B-but it's not her specifically! I'm looking for someone she's travelling with. Jaune Arc. I was wondering if maybe they had told you where they went?"

Taiyang stared hard at Cardin for a moment, then his shoulders relaxed, but only slightly. He crossed his arms.

"You maybe wanna fill me in on what this is about, Cardin?"

"Well, Jaune and I knew each other back at Beacon, and I… I wasn't a very good person back then, so I thought maybe I would try to smooth things out with him if he'll let me. And if at all possible, maybe I could help him with his mission."

Taiyang raised an eyebrow at Cardin.

"And what happens if he doesn't want to see you? What if Jaune really isn't in the mood for patching things up?"

At this point, Cardin smirked slightly. His shoulders slumped in resignation.

"Well, I suppose if that's the case, then Ruby probably won't want to see me either, and neither will Jaune's teammates. They'd probably skin me alive and dump me in a ditch."

This earned a chuckle from Taiyang, who shook his head and uncrossed his arms.

"Well, you got guts, Cardin. And I can see that you're pretty invested in this, but there's one more thing you don't know about."

Cardin frowned inquisitively.

"My other daughter? Yang? You know the one with the anger issues? She just left here a few days ago to go find Ruby as well. And when it comes to her little sister, she tends to get pretty protective. So, your whole risk factor just shot up a few points because if Yang doesn't want to see you, you're in big trouble."

Cardin shuddered at the thought. He had seen Yang in action during his time at Beacon, and he had been on the receiving end of her punches once or twice. It was not a pleasant experience.

"That being said," Taiyang continued. "If you still want to go see them, it would definitely put my mind at ease. A father sleeps a lot better at night knowing that a big strong guy like you is out there protecting his kids."

Cardin smiled at Taiyang's words. The older man was starting to trust him. Thank Oum.

"Here," Taiyang said, pulling a folded envelope from his pocket. "This letter arrived in the mail yesterday. It's the first contact I've had from Ruby since she left. It says that she's in Mistral. She even included an address on the back of the letter, so I guess she couldn't have made it any easier for you."

Cardin examined the letter, which was addressed to Yang originally. It was a very heartfelt message, filled with pain and sadness, to be sure, but Cardin felt an underlying sense of hope as he read through it. On the back of the paper, Ruby had scribbled an address. With Taiyang's permission, Cardin took a picture of the address with his scroll, then folded the letter back into the envelope and handed it back.

"So, what's your plan then, Cardin?" Taiyang asked as he tucked the letter back into his pocket.

"I'll have to stop back into Vale and pack up. And then I guess I'm off to Mistral."

"By yourself? Kinda dangerous these days, isn't it?"

Cardin nodded, setting his jaw. "Yeah. Yeah it is."

"Well, alright then. Good luck," Taiyang said, holding out his hand to Cardin once more.

"Thank you, sir. Ah, I mean, Taiyang." Cardin said as he reached out and shook the man's hand.

"Call me Tai," Taiyang said with a smile. Cardin smiled and nodded back. As they broke their handshake, Cardin collected his mace and began walking back the way he came.

"And Cardin…" Taiyang called behind him. Cardin turned back to look at him.

"When you get to Mistral, tell my daughters I said hi, alright?"

Cardin smiled.

"I will."

…

Taiyang watched as Cardin began walking back up the path, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Nice kid," Tai said to himself as he returned to his garden. The fact that Cardin was making the trip by himself made Tai slightly nervous for him, but he decided that a big tough guy like Cardin could handle himself.

From what Tai had gathered, apparently Cardin had not been that good of a person in his past. But from the impression Cardin had made just talking to him, Tai could see that he was really determined to make things right. Unfortunately, not enough people like that existed on Remnant, at least not these days. People didn't bother to clean up the messes they made, people who turned their backs on others, and didn't bother to think how their actions affected others. Tai could think of one person in particular who could use some of the humility that Cardin had displayed, but unfortunately, humility was a word that Tai would never associate with her. Tai sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Ain't that a bitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: That's it. It's over. It's all done. I'm honestly having trouble believing it myself. I just don't have any words to describe it. When you write something, it's almost like having a kid, but to a far lesser extent. You get to watch as the story grows and you grow with it. It takes turns you didn't expect, it does things that you wish you could have changed, but in the end. It's exciting to see what the culmination of it all was. I want to give out a big thank you to all of my readers, without whom I would be lost. Please do not forget to drop a review letting me know what you thought about the story. I want to know what you think. Even if you thought it was the worst combination of words ever to be put on paper, tell me. Or not, that's cool too, I guess. Anyway, thanks a bunch for reading, and I'll see everyone next time!
> 
> -ImpulsiveWeaver


	15. A Pyrrhic Reconciliation

A Pyrrhic Reconciliation

Cardin shivered slightly as the wind whipped around him and shot through the gaps in his armor. He had foolishly believed a traveling salesman when he told him that Argus was beautiful this time of year, but that beauty extended only to the sight alone as all of Cardin's other senses protested the chill of winter. Cardin had put on extra layers of clothing under his armor, but the chill was ever persistent, and the fact that his armor was made of metal didn't help either. But Cardin refused to let the cold hinder his progress. The sun was already setting, and he had hoped to ask around to see if anyone had seen a group of Hunstmen around before turning in for the night.

Cardin had followed Jaune's trail all the way from Vale to Mistral, to the place that Ruby's letter had been sent from. It had certainly not been an easy trek, and Cardin had the seemingly growing number of Grimm to thank for that, but he had felt excitement at being so close to his goal when he had finally arrived at the grand city. Unfortunately, Cardin had not been in Mistral for less than an hour before he learned that Jaune and his group had already departed, and apparently, they had left quite a mess too. From reports collected by the Mistral Police, Cardin had learned that the White Fang had attacked Haven Academy a few weeks ago. According to the police, the group had been attempting to down the CCT tower located there like they had at Beacon, but a small counterforce of Faunus from Menagerie had learned of their plans and had intercepted them before they could carry out their mission. According to the report, there had been a number of Hunstmen there as well who fought against the White Fang. Very few photos had been taken of the incident, but Cardin was given access to them due to his status as a Huntsman.

The pictures were blurry and slightly out of focus, but in one of the shots, Cardin caught a glimpse of some very familiar faces battling inside the academy. The most important of which belonged to Jaune, and despite the quality, Cardin had no doubts that it was him. To his surprise, he also spied Yang's easily identifiable hair as well. According to the reports, the incident had occurred a little over two weeks ago, but when Cardin had spoken to Tai, Yang had only been gone a few days. Somehow, Yang had been able to get to Mistral much faster than he had. Even with her motorcycle, that time gap was insanely large.

Cardin had decided not to dwell on it too much and had asked the police if they knew where the Hunstmen had gone after the battle of Haven. They had pointed him in the direction of Argus, and just as Cardin was beginning to dread another three days of hiking, he was informed of the Argus Unlimited, which was a direct train line between Haven and Mistral. That fact alone lifted his spirits greatly, and he was even more relieved to see that the recent damage to the track by Grimm attacks had been repaired, and that the train was now running better than ever.

The trip had been enjoyable. No Grimm had attacked, which was quite surprising given the increasing frequency, but Cardin decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. That was how you jinxed yourself.

Now, Cardin was walking down the streets of Argus, one of the largest non-capital cities on Remnant, asking around if anyone had seen a group of teenagers with varying color schemes walking around. Cardin felt his spirits lift again when an older gentleman said he saw some people that matched that description.

Unfortunately for Cardin, the man was hard of hearing. Very hard of hearing.

"Oh yes! There were quite a few of those youngsters hanging around here a few days ago! All armed to the teeth and tough as nails!"

"Those might be the people I'm looking for. By any chance, sir, do you know where they went?"

"'…the letter you sent?' I'm sorry, my boy, but I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Cardin frowned and shook his head.

"No," he said, raising his voice slightly. "Do you know where they went?"

"You're…late for the event?"

"NO, I—"

Cardin stopped himself, determined not to lose his patience with the old man. As of right now, the man was his only lead, and he could not let him get away.

"Do…you…know…where…they…went?" Cardin said slowly, this time acting out the words as he was saying them.

"Well, of course!" the old man said, happily ignorant of just how thin Cardin's patience was getting. "Last I saw them, they were headed for the military base, but I doubt they ever actually got in!"

"Thank…you!" Cardin acted out before turning his heel and walking away from the man. He was not about to ask the man where the military base was, as he would rather not waste the next hour trying to get the answer.

Walking down the street, Cardin politely asked a woman with a toddler where the Argus Military base was. The woman was friendly enough, and she politely listened and bounced the child in her arms as Cardin made his inquiry.

"You too, huh?" the woman said with a laugh, her long blonde hair falling down her back as she tilted her head. Supporting the child with one arm, she turned and pointed down the street. "Take a left down Vine street, then just keep going until you hit the water. You can't miss it!"

"Thank you so much!" Cardin said, bowing his head in gratitude as he did so. The woman's friendliness had made him smile unconsciously, and though he couldn't place it, there was something about her that was very familiar.

"Good luck getting in, though!" the woman said, walking past Cardin as she did so. "Those kids barely made it on without my help, and I am not about to make Adrian throw a fit just so someone can get to Atlas!"

Cardin's eyes widened in sudden realization. The blonde hair, the military base…ATLAS?!

Cardin whirled around to stop the woman again, but something caught his eye that caused him to freeze entirely. His whole body suddenly seemed to lose all feeling, and this time, he wished that it had been due to the cold.

Before him stood a small park. Beautiful wooden structures and benches were placed all around, with plenty of flora to match. It was a beautiful sight, and it was made even more beautiful by the thick blanket of snow that had settled on every surface. The whole park seemed to be frozen in time, but all of that was lost on Cardin as his eyes widened at what stood in the direct center.

Before him, cast all in bronze and standing twelve feet tall, stood Pyrrha Nikos, holding her shield out in front of her in a non-threatening gesture. Unbeknownst to Cardin, he had slowly began approaching the statue ever since he had laid eyes on it, and within a few moments, he came to a stop before her, his eyes staring up into hers with a storm of emotions whirling just beneath the surface. His mace clattered to the ground beside him, momentarily forgotten.

Pyrrha stared back at him, and suddenly, Cardin felt the weight of her gaze settle onto him like an anvil. All at once, every single memory he had of her came back in full force, and with a feeling akin to been stabbed through the stomach, Cardin realized that if there had been one more person that deserved an apology just as much as Jaune did, she was standing before him.

Cardin lowered his gaze to the ground, already aware of the fact that he was shrinking rapidly. His whole body began to dwindle down, almost as if the weight of Pyrrha's gaze was forcing him to shrink.

Truthfully, he couldn't blame her. As all of his memories came back, Cardin woefully registered that none of them were pleasant. Every picture in his mind, every word spoken, every thought conceived…all of them had been laced with contempt toward heer. Contempt that now burned Cardin when he thought about it. Contempt that the old Cardin had felt was rightfully placed against someone who had just been trying to make him better. Contempt that had been born from a weak man who couldn't stand to have his fragile ego broken.

Oum, did it hurt to remember. Cardin shook his head as his gaze remained glued to the sidewalk. There was no memory, not even a single instance in Cardin's past that could be described as kind or respectful to Pyrhha Nikos. During that time, it almost seemed as though Cardin had existed to bring her down. Something he had never been able to do, obviously, but someone else had, and when Cardin thought about it, he realized something horrible.

Perhaps, in all his plotting and hating and disdain for Pyrrha, he had done something or said something that had contributed to her demise. Pyrrha had died, and it was a likely possibility that he, Cardin Winchester, had helped make that happen.

The thought alone almost made Cardin fall to his knees, but before his legs could buckle, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Gritting his teeth, Cardin caught himself before he fell. He didn't want to make a scene, but even so, he still felt as though he was being crushed. The thought that he had indirectly killed her was more than he could take.

Cardin didn't look up as the footsteps stopped beside him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" came a voice. It was a woman's voice, and it felt like warm sunlight after a stormy day. "Larger than life, just like she was."

Cardin screwed his eyes shut, refusing to let himself feel comforted by the woman's kindness. He didn't deserve to be here. He didn't deserve to even look at her.

"Yes," he said, attempting to force the strain out of his voice. Gulping hard, he forced his eyes up and stared straight ahead. The movement alone was a herculean effort.

"More and more have come to see her," the voice said kindly. "Seeing them all, it makes me so happy to know that she had so many amazing people around her at Beacon. Seeing them come here, it just makes me so proud."

At her words, Cardin couldn't help but turn his head and see the face behind the words. His eyes went from surprise to agony as he saw emerald green eyes and bright red hair. The woman looked back at him with a smile that he did not deserve. A smile that he perhaps would never deserve, especially not from her. Her words cut like steel through him, torturing his very soul. It was excruciating.

'…so many amazing people…'

Cardin shook his head.

"I…I need to go. Pyr—"

Cardin bit his lip. He could feel tears welling up behind his eyes.

"She…wouldn't want me to be here."

Cardin turned to leave, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to shrug it off, wanted to step away, but he knew he couldn't have what he wanted. He wanted to leave. He wanted to escape the pain he was feeling, but he knew he couldn't be that selfish. He deserved to wither under the combined scrutiny of mother and daughter. The hand was still there, so he slowly turned his head and met the woman's emerald gaze.

Her smile was still there, and so was her hand. Her hold was gentle. It was as though Cardin were a lost child, and she was there to reassure him. Cardin bitterly added that to the list of things he did not deserve.

If Velvet could see him now, Cardin was sure that she would be angry at him for being so stuck in the past. But right here, right now, there was so little Cardin could do from breaking down.

"Pyyrha always had a saying," the woman said. Her gaze never wavered, and her smile somehow burned brighter. Cardin hated himself for wanting to smile in return.

"She used to say: 'Your past doesn't define who you are. It just gives you a starting point for who you're going to be…'"

Cardin started to shake his head. But the woman continued talking, silencing all of his protests.

"…and I know that if she was here right now, she'd tell you to go forward; to move on. There's so much to be done, and to stay behind is to increase your sins tenfold."

Cardin sighed heavily.

"How can I move on? How can I live knowing that things would be better if it was me instead of her?"

The woman shook her head.

"I know that Pyrrha wouldn't have done what she did if she didn't believe in us to carry on for her. She made her choice, and we can honor her now by being the best we can be. No matter who we were before, we still have time to be better."

Cardin set his jaw as her words began to warm the blackness within him. This time, he let the smile tug at the corners of his lips. The woman's smile grew in return, and she finally removed her hand from Cardin's shoulder.

Cardin turned to look at Pyrrha again, and though he knew it was impossible, it seemed like her expression seemed to change. Instead of bearing down on him, it now seemed to offer a silent challenge. A passing of responsibility to Cardin to prove that he was deserving of her forgiveness. He could almost hear her voice inside his head.

I gave it all, and when I fell, I couldn't get up to give more. Will you stand up, or will you stand aside?

As if to echo the words, the woman spoke again.

"There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that tears you down until there is nothing left, and the kind that kindles your soul to action. Which kind do you feel, Cardin?"

Cardin's eyes widened at the mention of his name, but when he snapped his neck back in surprise, the woman was gone. He looked around widely for her, but after a quick sweep, he saw that he was alone in the park yet again. Well, almost alone.

Looking back up to Pyrrha's statue, Cardin felt the crushing weight lift from his shoulders. He was vaguely aware that he was growing again. As he jumped back to his full height, Cardin smiled up to the statue. Tears formed again in the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha," he said aloud. "I'm so sorry that you never got to see me at my best. I'm sorry that you only knew the old me. And most of all, I'm sorry that I never got a chance to show you just how far I could go. But if you're listening, please just know that although you never knew it, you helped shape me into who I am today. I hope that with time, I can be someone you can be proud of."

All of a sudden, the wind shifted. The clouds parted just for a moment, but the sun suddenly shone brightly through the gap and illuminated the entire park in a deep red hue. The white canvas of the snowfall was painted crimson by the solar glow, and as Cardin turned his head to admire the scene, the wind shifted direction again.

As Cardin watched, he saw a fleck of bright orange and gold appear from behind a tree. It was a leaf. The last leaf of Fall, if Cardin were to guess. The wind billowed and whipped throughout the park, but Cardin's eyes never left the leaf as it sailed through the park on a haphazard path towards him. At the last moment, the wind abruptly stopped, and the leaf lazily drifted for a few more moments before hovering down towards him. Cardin stood still and held his breath as the leaf fell closer and closer, and only when the leaf landed softly on his shoulder did he let out a breath of relief. The leaf remained on his shoulder, perched as though it was meant to be there, and Cardin had a feeling that it was. It sat on the exact same shoulder that the woman had touched just a minute earlier, and although Cardin knew it was impossible, he felt his shoulder grow warmer on the spot where the leaf sat. It was as though another hand rested there.

Cardin smiled and nodded his head.

Thank you.

Gently taking the leaf in his hand, Cardin studied it for a moment before holding it out in front of him. The wind picked up once more, and just like that, the leaf blew away and out of sight.

Sparing one last look at Pyrrha, Cardin nodded once before picking up his mace and strolling from the park, once again feeling at peace.


End file.
